In Which
by Kat Evageline
Summary: "Where are you going?" "What do you care? You're not coming with me!" "Good luck without any food!" I rolled my eyes as I realized that I couldn't leave her alone. "I really hate women." A new retelling of the classic fairytale, Sleeping Beauty.
1. In Which I Am Given A Quest

**In Which I am Given a Quest**

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><p>Everybody knows that there are domineering parents in the world. Most of them say things like, "Practice your instrument if you want to get ahead" or "Get straight A's if you want to be successful." Their children usually resent or hate them, but I would do anything to have those kinds of parents. Instead, my father was more like, "Hey, son! Go wake up a hundred year old princess if you ever want to be great like your brother."<p>

In theory, it doesn't sound so hard; all I had to do was travel to a ruined kingdom, find and kiss the princess, everyone in the castle would wake up, and then we would fall in love and live happily ever after. Sounds easy enough (and if anything, really girly), but what actually happened was a lot more painfully complicated.

It all started when my parents, who just happen to be the king and queen of Tealm, decided to throw a huge ball for my brother, Derek. The whole purpose of it was to find him a "proper wife." But instead of just inviting royal princesses, my idiot brother decided he wanted every maiden of the kingdom to come as well. Naturally, my parents agreed.

What ended up happening was that my brother ignored everyone in the room, which resulted in several offended princesses, and danced with just one girl all night. She ended up running away from him at midnight without giving him her name and accidently leaving a glass shoe. Derek, instead of taking the not-so-subtle hint, decided that he was going to find the mysterious girl by having every girl in the kingdom try on the shoe. As if all girls had different shoe sizes, but regardless, my parents were so proud that he had "taken the initiative to find true love."

Which leads me back to how my whole adventure started. My parents called me into their throne room to "have a chat" with me. I hate it when they say that. It makes me feel like I'm in trouble.

"Colin, your mother and I have been thinking," he started.

"And we think it's time that you find a wife of your own," my mother finished for him.

I raised my eyebrows as my father cleared his throat.

"Yes, and we know just the princess," he told me.

Now my parents had been bothering me and my brother about getting married for years now (okay, maybe only one year when I turned eighteen, but it seems longer when you are nagged about it), and I knew that the nagging would get worse after the ball, but to be told that they already had a princess for me was crossing the line. Especially since Derek got to choose his own, even if he was too stupid to find her.

"Wait, what? You betrothed me to someone? Since when?" I practically yelled.

"Hush," said my mother, interrupting my questions, "We haven't betrothed you."

"You haven't?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Then, what-," I started, but my father interrupted me.

"Since your brother knows who he is to marry and is now proving himself to be a worthy king by looking for the girl, we think it would be fair to give you a quest in order to prove yourself as well."

"Why should I have to prove myself?" I asked, "I'm not going to be king."

"It's not to prove yourself as a worthy king, but a worthy man. We want both of our sons to be remembered as wise and great men. If you do this, you will definitely be remembered." my mother said.

I blinked, thoroughly confused. It figures my parents would have twisted logic for everything, including my love life.

"What quest?" I asked warily.

"Well, you remember the story about the princess who was said that if she when she reached the age of eighteen, she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel spindle, and she and her kingdom would fall asleep until she had true love's kiss?" my mother asked me.

I only nodded at the huge sentence she had just spoken.

"The story is true," she said, but continued before I could interrupt again, "Your father and I have agreed that you should wake the princess."

"You can't tell me that you guys actually believe that story," I said incredulously.

"Of course we do," my father said, "You know the Wild Lands?"

Everybody knew the Wild Lands. It was rumored that evil lived in those woods along with giants, ogres, werewolves and other dangerous creatures. Parents threatened their children that if they did not behave, they would be sent to the Wild Lands and used as bait for trolls. There were no good stories about the Wild Lands.

"Well, we believe that was once the kingdom of Hulion, which fell over one hundred years ago. Our most trusted historians believe this is where the story originates from," continued my father.

There was silence for a moment before I said, "So let me get this straight. You want me to go into the Wild Lands, which may or may not be the ancient kingdom of Hulion, most likely battle ogres and werewolves find a magical sleeping one hundred year old princess, kiss her awake to break the spell and marry her just to prove my manhood?"

They both nodded.

"You both realize that this is a harder task than Derek's right?" I asked them. They fidgeted in their thrones and didn't answer.

"Fine", I sighed and they both smiled. I knew it was pointless to try to argue, they would get their way somehow.

"I know you won't disappoint us, son!" my father exclaimed happily.

"You'll do brilliantly, I just know it," my mother told me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll make you proud. Can I go now?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. You need to start packing for tomorrow," my mother said.

I started. "What?"

"You need to start packing for your journey. You must start as soon as possible," my father told me.

Before I could object, the throne room doors opened and Derek strode in.

"No luck today?" my mother asked. He shook his head disappointedly.

I figured that I should leave before they started pitying him.

"Well, if you excuse me, I must pack for a most necessary quest to retrieve my manhood," I said sarcastically as I left. I really hoped this wasn't a waste of time, which it probably was.

Great.

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><p>I came up with this story while doing a literature study on fairy tales last year. It's taken some development, but the characters and plot is all mine. Well, except for the fact that its based on the fairy tale <em>Sleeping Beauty<em>. But other than that, it's mine. And I don't share well.


	2. In Which I Battle An Angry Dragon

**In Which I Battle An Angry Dragon**

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><p>Leaving was not as easy as I thought it would be. My mother hugged me several times while weeping, "Be safe," which is odd since it was her idea for me to go on a quest in the first place. My father just stood there, occasionally thumping me on the back. Derek didn't even have the good grace to see me off. Maybe it was better that way.<p>

I went into the stables to get my horse, Demon. The stable hands say he is the most evil horse they have ever seen. He bites them and supposedly tries to escape all the time and they swear they see fire in his eyes. I wouldn't know though. We actually get along pretty well. I wonder what this says about me.

Just before I got on Demon, my father pulled me aside.

"Colin, I need to tell you something before you leave," he said seriously.

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever underestimate the power of true love's kiss. It can be the most dangerous thing in the world to some people or the most wonderful thing to other people. It can save a life, but it can also destroy one," he told me.

"Ugh, Dad," I said as I made a face, "You're not going to get all mushy are you?"

"Colin," he warned.

"Sorry, Dad, but you don't even know if I am this mythical girl's true love. What if I kiss her, and she does nothing but snore?" I asked.

My father sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Colin, it's worth a try. I have a really good feeling about this."

"Fine," I said as I mounted Demon, "Wish me luck."

"Wait," he said. I turned in my saddle towards him.

"What?" I said a little irritably. Couldn't he let me go on this pointless journey so I could come back and live peacefully?

"Many men have gone to find the princess, but they have never come back," he told me.

Was that supposed to make me feel better?

"So...be safe," he said before turning around and walking back into the castle without looking back.

"Thanks, Dad," I said quietly before I urged Demon into a canter out of the castle walls, out of town, and towards the Wild Lands in the West.

After a while, I slowed Demon to a walk. It was weird being out of the safety of Tealm. Sure, I had gone hunting in the woods and I had visited foreign nations, but it was a little different than going alone into a dangerous forest where I could possibly die. I hoped that ogres didn't really skin you alive before they boil your bones or whatever they do.

I rode until almost sunset. I would have ridden until sundown, but that would have brought me right to the edge of the Wild Lands. Call me a coward, but that is not one place I want to be sleeping.

I made camp and gave Demon some oats. While he ate, I sat down and started eating my own delicious dinner of salted pork.

"What do you think, Demon?" I asked, "Do you believe the story?"

My strangely silent horse continued munching on his dinner.

I sighed. "Maybe it's true. I mean, if there can be trolls, why not a magic princess?"

Demon looked up at me briefly before returning to his oats. Only then did I realize that I was talking to a horse. I sighed once more and lay down, hoping for a good night's sleep. I wondered about how the supposed princess could have gone to sleep for over a hundred years and why anybody would want to sleep for that long. She must have been really good at naptime when she was a child. With these thoughts, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, it was just before sunrise. I always woke up early; you got to see more of the day and get more things done that way.

I packed up and mounted Demon and we were off again. We reached the Wild Lands about a half an hour later. I stopped just at the edge of the huge forest and Demon whinnied nervously. Have I mentioned that my horse was a bit of a coward?

I took a deep breath and said, "Here goes nothing, Demon." Then we entered the wood.

The Wild Lands were not as dark and depressing as I thought. It was basically just like any other forest that I had ever been in. Figures that all the hype was for nothing.

It was only an hour later that I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Where was the ancient capital city of Hulion? Nobody had ever bothered to tell me where to even start looking. Well, in all due fairness, if I had paid attention to my history tutor, I would probably know where to start looking.

I wracked my brains trying to figure out what general direction I should be taking. I should have at least brought a map or a compass or something. I closed my eyes, frustrated at how unprepared I came. I was almost as bad as Derek.

Then, by some pure stroke of luck, I came across a very old, broken, cobblestone road. Deciding that this was probably my best bet, I followed it.

Around noon, I fed Demon some apples I had brought along. As he munched on those I scouted out the area. There was absolutely no sign of where the road was heading. I hoped it led to somewhere soon; sleeping in this forest was not something that I wanted to experience, no matter how friendly it seemed now.

In another half hour we were traveling the road once more. I thought about turning back and telling my parents that I had only found an empty castle. It would save me the trouble of wandering out in the woods and finding nothing anyway.

I started to let myself think about the princess as a real person. Was she beautiful? The stories all said she was, but then again, stories could be misleading. Would she even like me? It would be nice since we were going to get married.

That thought made me freeze. If the story was true, we would be getting married soon after I woke her up. Sure, I had known that all along that if all went according to my parent's plan that I would be getting married, but it just hit me.

Don't get me wrong, marriage was a good thing for the right people, but I never considered myself a marriage kind of man. Since I was never going to be king, there was no necessary reason for me to get married. I never wanted to be tied to anyone or worry about a family. Marriage was great for people like Derek, but not for me. And now, I was facing the possibility of marriage and it absolutely terrified me.

I shook my head to clear these thoughts. The whole story was a fairy tale; why should I worry about something that wasn't even true.

At about three hours until sunset, the road started to widen and the dense forest started to thin out. Before I knew it, I came out of the forest and was facing a huge, ivy covered castle and an old stone bridge leading to the front of it.

My jaw dropped. I really hadn't expected to see a castle at all, so seeing it on only my second day of travel was even more of a shock. I dismounted and looked at the castle.

It was a huge, ruined castle that was covered in ivy. In front of it was an outside courtyard which was just across the old bridge that was built above a river.

The bridge looked as if it would collapse at any moment. I figured it wouldn't be safe for Demon to try and cross the bridge, so I dismounted and tied him to a nearby tree.

"I'll be back soon," I told him as I patted his nose, "Hopefully without a princess."

I grabbed my sword just in case and started over the bridge. As I was crossing I thought I heard a whooshing sound over my head, but when I looked up, nothing but sky was above me. I continued to cross carefully.

When I was on the other side, the site that greeted me was not a pleasant one.

There were charred bones, armor, and weapons everywhere. It was like there had been a giant fire in the middle of the courtyard, but nobody had had the common sense to cross the bridge to get away or jump in the river to extinguish themselves.

I only had a few moments to look around before a giant column of flame erupted before me accompanied by an earth shattering roar. I jumped back to avoid being incinerated by the hot flames and looked around for the cause of the flames. When I looked to the sky, I saw a giant, bat-like creature covered in green scales flying straight towards me.

"Dragon," I breathed just before it opened its mouth and shot another column of fire at me. I barely dodged it and hid behind a broken column and drew my sword.

When I was younger, my father always told stories to me and Derek about dragons. He told us that a dragon's scales were impenetrable, making them virtually impossible to defeat. I used this to my advantage when Derek and I played our made-up game of Dragons and Knights. I always wanted to be the dragon because I always won until Derek figured out that if you stabbed the dragon in the mouth, the knight effectively won. Unfortunately, he decided to actually stab me in the mouth with his play sword. I had to get 22 stitches and the game was banned for the both of us.

Now, maybe I could put Derek's theory into practice. But before I could make another move, the dragon found me on the other side of the column and fired more flames at me. This time I wasn't as fast at dodging the flames. My sleeve caught on fire and I almost dropped my sword. I noticed that I was close to the river. I tried to go towards it, but another column of flames erupted before me. I looked up at the dragon and I could have sworn that it was smiling maliciously at me. I immediately understood why the other people whose charred bones lay around me didn't get to the river. The dragon didn't let them.

The flames on my sleeve were starting to burn my skin. I made a split second decision in hopes that I could outsmart the dragon.

I took another step forward and as the dragon started to shoot its fire in front of me, I jumped back to avoid the flames. The second it stopped, I ran forward and plunged into the river. I could hear the dragon roar in frustration and let out another column of flame after me, but I was already underwater.

When I brought my head up to the surface, I didn't see the dragon anywhere. I swam to the bridge and climbed up the bank underneath it. I looked around for the giant beast, but I still didn't see it. Knowing it was a trap, I readied my sword and waited.

I didn't have to wait long before I heard the whooshing of wings above me. I prepared myself and jumped out from under the bridge. I watched as the dragon opened its mouth to shoot flames once more and just before it did, I threw my sword like a javelin straight into its mouth.

The roar it let loose nearly broke my eardrums. I covered my ears as I watched it thrash around with a sword in its mouth. It scraped at its jaw with its curved, sharp claws and shook its head trying to get rid of the sword. It tried to work the sword loose with its tongue, but that only caused it more pain.

Eventually, the sword came loose and clattered to the ground. Great, now I was injured and weaponless. I was definitely going to die.

But all the dragon did was give me a long, scathing look. Its eyes were extremely golden, but instead of being warm, they were filled with hatred, making them cold and hard. The dragon then lifted its wings and flew off to the north, leaving me extremely confused.

I went over and picked up my sword. Strangely, it wasn't even bent or dulled. I cleaned it and put it back into its sheath.

I then looked at the sky and realized it would be getting dark soon. I knew I had better make camp and tend to my burnt arm, but I didn't want to be outside for fear of the giant dragon. I looked at the castle and knew it would be a better fortress than anything outside. I sighed and started to cross the bridge once more to get my horse.

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><p>So I have decided that I am not going to beg for reviews. Mostly for the reason that I find it annoying when other people do and if my writing is worth reviewing, you will. Once again, I don't share well.<p> 


	3. In Which My Troubles Just Begin

**In Which My Troubles Just Begin**

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><p>Getting a horse over a stone bridge that is only half there is harder than it sounds. Leading Demon around the gaping holes in the bridge was almost impossible. Although I was trying to lead him around them, Demon seemed to avoid them on his own anyway.<p>

Once we had gotten on the other side and into the castle, the sun was just going down. I made a fire easily enough, something you had to know if you went hunting often. I then looked at my burnt arm. It didn't look to bad; it was a deep red and a little white. I got out my canteen and poured some water on it to disinfect it as well as I could. I got a piece of cloth and wrapped it around my forearm where the burn was.

After I had fed Demon and eaten myself, I decided to take a look around. I found an old torch on the wall, and light it from the fire and set off. The room I am in is huge and has columns on either side. I realized that this is the main hall. There are paintings on the walls and broken stained glass windows of knights and dragons and damsels in distress. I shivered at the thought of dragons and quickly moved on.

I reached the end of the room and was about to enter another when I heard a noise behind me. I quickly spun around, but there wasn't anything there. With my hand on my sword, I did the stupidest thing I could probably do. I approached the area.

The noise sounded again and it almost sounded like someone..._snoring?_ I came closer and saw the eeriest thing ever.

Two men, apparently castle guards, were collapsed on the ground. They looked everything but alive and smelled absolutely terrible. But all thoughts of them being dead were immediately expelled when one of them snored very loudly.

I stepped closer to examine them. They were dressed in traditional guard armor and were wearing a crest that had both a beaver and a badger on it. Above them was a dragon with its wings spread. I had a feeling dragons were going to be a sore spot for me for a long time.

The guard let out another snore and made me jump.

"I'm guessing that you two are not the only ones sleeping on the job?" I asked them. My voice echoed eerily in the huge room making it loose its sarcastic tone.

I bent down and shook one of the guards. He didn't stir. I shook him harder and this time he let out a loud shout. I jumped up and screamed from surprise, but even after that, the guard stayed asleep but muttered something about a woman named Martha making him pay.

I shook my head at him. I then heard Demon whinny from the other side of the main hall. I decided to get some rest and get away from the sleeping guards. They were starting to creep me out. I crossed the hall again and sat down by the fire.

"I guess that proves that princess is real, huh?" I said to Demon. He looked at me dolefully and nuzzled me with his nose.

I sighed and patted his nose before lying down and attempting to sleep. I realized that this was easier said than done. All I could think about was the creepy sleeping guards and the potential of more sleeping people in the castle. It was weird thinking that I was the only conscious person in the whole castle. Wind whistled through the open windows making the setting feel extra creepy.

After what seemed like hours later, I finally fell into a fitful sleep.

Morning came way to soon. I could see the sun through my eyelids and sat up and looked around. It was a lot less ghostly in the morning light. Demon whinnied to make sure that I knew he was hungry. I got up and fed him and then quickly ate something myself.

When I had finished eating, I stood up and patted Demon on the nose.

"I'll be back. I'm off to prove myself as a man," I told him.

I wandered back to the other side of the main hall where the guards were. I saw now in the daylight that they had been protecting a door. I pushed it open and came into a chamber with sleeping maids and men and women who must have been ladies and dukes. I stepped over them and opened another door to reveal yet another room. This was going to take forever.

I eventually ended up in the throne room. It was a very regal place and was filled with warm inviting colors and banners covered in a thick layer of dust. At the end of the room was two thrones that were both filled. I approached the thrones to find the king and queen. The queen had a handsome face, though it was apparent that she was in her early fifties. Or was, considering it was now 100 years from her time.

The king was a bearded man, but held a smirk on his face, which gave him the look that he was about to get into some trouble.

"Oh, I think we will get along great," I told him. He remained unresponsive.

Neither of them wore the kinds of crowns that we had in Tealm, which were big and gaudy. The king had a small crown with one ruby at the center and two small diamonds on either side. The queen wore a simple circlet with a ruby at the center and tiny diamonds spread throughout the complicated design of it.

I stepped away from both of them and noticed that the entire court were sleeping on either side of the throne room as if they had been waiting for someone just before they fell asleep. I turned to see a door right beside the one I had entered. I crossed the room and opened the door. On the other side were stairs circling upwards. I sighed and started up them.

Ten minutes later I was still climbing up them. The stairs never seemed to end and I was starting to get fatigued.

"Figures she would be in the tallest tower," I wheezed to myself. I grabbed onto the railing to push myself forward.

After what seemed forever, but probably was only a few minutes later, I reached the top. I bent over to catch my breath then stood up.

The door at the top was partially opened. I wondered if someone had already been here. I pushed the door open and realized that someone had, in fact, already visited this place.

Men were lying in heaps sleeping on either side of a bed. Some of them looked as if they had been here for along time considering the amount of dust covering their clothes, but others looked more recent. I stared at them, wondering what made all of them fall asleep like this.

I then approached the bed, which was in the center of the room.

A woman in a huge white dress laid in the bed. I wish I could say she was sleeping gracefully, but in truth, it looked as if she had flopped into bed. She was sprawled out over the bed and her face was partially in her pillow and partially covered up by her brown hair.

The brown hair shocked me. I was certain that she would have had blonde hair like mine, but once again I was wrong. I decided that I really hated being wrong.

Disregarding all fears of waking her, I rolled her over and brushed the hair out of her face to get a good look at her.

In all the stories I heard about this girl, all of them stated that she was so beautiful it would make men's knees weak or something like that. In reality, she was very beautiful, but my knees didn't go weak. She had heart shaped face and a straight nose and plumb lips that were parted slightly. Her skin was smooth and held no blemishes. She had an even simpler circlet than the queen did; it only held a single ruby.

I figured out then why the men were all strewn about like they were. They had all come to kiss the princess, but for some reason had fallen asleep themselves. I guessed that if I hadn't fallen asleep now, it must be a good sign.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on her cheek. I bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

Nothing happened. She shifted in her sleep a bit, but nothing else happened. I thought maybe I had done something wrong. I leaned down once more and kissed her again and, once again, nothing changed except maybe her eyelids twitched.

I sighed and leaned back. Maybe I wasn't the one supposed to kiss her awake. I was a little relieved at this, but it also concerned me. What was I going to tell my parents?

I decided to try one more time.

"Third time's the charm," I whispered to myself before I kissed her once more. Almost immediately I felt a fist connect with my eye. I jumped back and cried out with pain, but before I could even evaluate the situation, someone kicked me right below the belt (literally) and took my sword. I crumpled to the ground and groaned in agony.

"Who are you?" I heard a very feminine voice with a strange accent say. All I could do was groan in response.

"I asked you a question. Answer me!" the voice demanded as I felt the tip of the blade at my neck. I looked up and saw the same girl that was just a few moments before lying in the bed. She looked absolutely wild now with her hair a mess and her gray eyes held a certain fire behind them. She almost looked crazy enough to kill me. I guess the third time was the charm.

"I am a man who is in very much pain," I moaned. I heard her scoff.

"And how is it that you know me well enough to kiss me while I'm asleep?" She asked harshly as she tightened her grip on my sword.

"See, that's the thing," I said getting up slowly, but the blade never left my throat, "I don't know you at all."

She blinked before saying, "Then why did you have the audacity to kiss me?"

"To wake you up," I replied simply. She steeled herself and tightened her grip on the sword once more.

"Do not toy with me!" She practically snarled at me, " There are guards at every corner of this castle and I am not afraid to call them and have you expelled from my presence."

"Yeah, to bad they were all asleep when I came in here," I said. She lowered the sword a bit, but not as much as I would've liked.

"What do you mean?" She asked me.

"I mean, everyone in the castle was asleep when I came in," I said slowly.

When all she did was look at me, I continued to explain, "Look, back in my country, there was this legend about a princess. When she was born all the fairies came and blessed her with things such as beauty and charm. Just before the last fairy went, an evil fairy came and was upset she wasn't invited to christen her with a gift. In retaliation, she gave the princess a curse that said she was to die by sundown on her eighteenth birthday by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. Now, the last fairy still hadn't gone yet and she partially reversed the curse saying that the princess would only fall asleep, along with everyone else in the kingdom, until true love's kiss woke her and the rest of the kingdom."

I waited to her reaction to my explanation. Her face flashed from anger to confusion then to understanding. She lowered the sword and looked around her, noticing for the first time the sleeping men that surrounded us.

"Who are they?" She asked me. I looked down at them.

"I don't know. They were sleeping when I got here."

She looked up at me with panic written all over her face. I couldn't understand why.

"If I'm awake, why aren't they?"

Oh. That's why. Before I could respond, she dropped my sword and raced out the door and down the stairs. I quickly grabbed my sword and returned it to its sheath before following her.

"Hey, wait!" I called to her as I descended the stairs after her, but she ignored me. She was going at a very fast pace; it was a wonder that she didn't trip over the big white gown she was wearing. Pretty soon she was out of sight and I slowed my pace.

When I reached the thrown room, I saw her sitting on the ground before the two thrones. I approached her and saw that the king and queen and the rest of the court were exactly as they were when I last saw them. The king's chest moved up and down evenly, but his eyes where still closed.

"I tried shaking them awake, but they will not stir," she said quietly looking down at her hands, "It's almost as if they are dead."

"They aren't dead," I told her, "Just sleeping."

I was confused. Wasn't everyone supposed to wake up now that the princess had woken up? That is how the story went. But here we were in the middle of a throne room and not a soul was awake.

Suddenly, the princess stood up and ran to a chamber on the side of the thrown room. I followed her and watched as she threw open a window. She stood there for a moment then turned to me.

"You hear that?" She asked. I listened to the sound of nothing.

"Hear what?"

"Exactly. Look out the window, then tell me what we should be hearing," She instructed.

I crossed the room and stood beside her to see out the window. Down below there was a city that was behind the castle. It was invisible from the front of the castle. There were houses and stalls and a market place. But the people were lying about in the streets sleeping and there was no noise to be heard. It was the spookiest thing ever.

"We should hear people talking and bartering. We should hear horses neighing and dogs barking," I said.

The princess nodded. She then shut the window and looked at me accusatorily.

"So why don't we hear those noises? Why is everyone still asleep?" She asked me with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. According to the myth, the last fairy said that _everybody_ would wake up," I said.

"Well, apparently everyone did _not_ wake up," She started and I could practically see the flames in her eyes, "And seeing as you're the one who kissed me awake, I'm assuming you-"

"Listen," I said angrily, cutting her off, "It's not my fault the rest of your kingdom didn't wake up, so stop blaming me! I don't know why they aren't awake. Maybe you should ask the last fairy. She might have some answers for you, but I don't, so-"

"No, wait," She said, interrupting my rant, "You're right."

"What?"

"You're right. My fairy godmother will know what happened," She told me.

I shook my head. "Won't she be sleeping like the rest of them?" I asked.

"No, stupid. Fairies aren't affected by time," She said, turning to exit the chamber, "I will need a sword, a map, and some food..."

"Wait, I'm not stupid! And why will you need those things?" I asked.

She turned to me and rolled her eyes. "Because we are going to go visit my fairy godmother and get this sorted out."

"We?"

"And I will also need some men's clothes," She said, completely ignoring me. Then she turned towards me and narrowed her eyes before saying, "And just because you kissed me awake doesn't mean that you are my true love, so don't get any ideas."

She then turned once more to exit the chamber.

"Wait," I said, "What's your name?"

She turned towards me and drew herself to her full height.

"I am Princess Aurora Juliette Adelise Chantel of Hulion," She replied, "But you will call me Rory."


	4. In Which I Get A New Traveling Companion

**In Which I Get A New Traveling Companion**

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><p>"It's terrible! I'm never going to get all these tangles out! My hair is like a birds nest! I might as well just cut it off. I never liked having long hair anyway. And why is everything covered in dust? I can't seem to move without making a dust storm. Where are the men's clothes? I know they are in here somewhere..."<p>

I had stopped trying to get a word in edgewise a while ago and let her root around in a large chest while I looked in a nearby mirror at my now swelling eye. For a princess, she could sure pack a punch.

"Did you hear me?" She asked sharply. I turned to face her only to see a scowl on her face.

"No," I said nonchalantly and turned back to the mirror, "I tuned you out when you started talking about the windows."

She huffed and started rooting in the chest again.

"I asked you why I was wearing this ridiculous dress," She said, looking down at the poofy white dress.

"It's a wedding dress," I replied, wincing as I touched my eye, "Great! Now I'm going to get a black eye. How am I going to explain that to my parents?"

"Wait? A wedding dress? Why would I need that?" She asked. I sighed and turned towards her once more.

"I know it's kind of hard to listen to me when you're talking all the time, but I explained that when you had true love's kiss, you would wake up and get married. That's how the legend goes."

She stood there and blinked for a moment before shaking her head and having the scowl return to her face.

"I would never marry you," She said bluntly.

"Ouch. That hurts my pride, princess" I said, placing my hand over my heart.

"You could do with some of your pride to be hurt, you egotistical big-head," She retorted.

"Now, Princess, I don't think we know each other quite well enough to start insulting each other," I said calmly with a smirk.

"I told you to call me Rory!" She through gritted teeth. Her face was starting to look alarmingly the same shade as a tomato.

"Now, _Rory,_ I don't think we know each other quite well enough to start insulting each other."

"Ugh! You're impossible! How do people deal with you?" She shouted at me.

"Well, seeing as I am a prince, they have to deal with me," I replied simply.

For not the first time today, she graced me with a shocked look.

"You're a prince? Of what country?" She asked.

"Tealm. And even though you haven't asked my name, it's Colin."

She studied me for a moment before saying, "Isn't Tealm dirt poor because of bad rulers?"

"Gee, I'm glad you sugarcoated that," I said, a little defensive for my country, "but Tealm had a revolution over eighty years ago and overthrew those rulers."

I had forgotten I hadn't exactly told her how long she had been sleeping for until I saw her eyes bulge out of their sockets.

"Eighty years ago?" She shrieked, "How long have I been asleep?"

I tugged nervously at my collar, "Erm...Well, about one hundred years? Give or take a few."

She stood perfectly still and her eyes glazed over. She started shaking her head.

"No, no, no, no...This is really bad," she muttered.

"Um, Princess? Are you okay?" I asked. She was starting to freak me out.

"One hundred years? How...I don't understand," She continued to murmur. I stood there awkwardly waiting for her to come out of her trance. All of the sudden, she gasped.

"The woman!"

I jumped, not expecting this reaction. "What woman?"

"My parents had called me to the throne room for a surprise. I was late so I took a shortcut through an old passage way. I saw an old woman doing something I had never seen before. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was spinning. I was absolutely fascinated with it and I asked her if I could try," She stopped and looked away from me.

"And?" I prompted.

"She said, 'Be careful. You don't want to poke your finger on the spindle; you'll be asleep for a very long time.' I thought she was kidding," The princess finished.

She was silent for a moment before turning back to the chest. I felt bad for her for a moment. I realized this all must be very disorienting for her.

"I've found men's clothes. Leave so I can change," She commanded.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You were serious? You are really going to wear men's clothes?"

"Yes," She said turning back to me, "What else am I going to wear?"

"Well, I'm sure there are some women's clothes in the castle somewhere if you looked," I told her.

She waved her hand dismissively before saying, "Those are not practical for traveling. Now leave so I may take this ridiculous dress off!"

I shook my head and left the room, closing the old door behind me. In Tealm, it was highly inappropriate for ladies to dress as men and vice versa (not that any men would really want to wear their clothes, ours were uncomfortable enough). It was grounds for being shunned by everyone because you were basically considered a freak. I was pretty sure it was the same here too, considering all the sleeping women and men were in their prospective clothing. I decided that I would ask her about it when she came out.

I waited outside the door for ten minutes until the princess finally emerged. She had men's clothes on and a sword at her hip. I started to ask her my question, but it died on my tongue when I saw her.

"You cut your hair!" I said, gaping at her. Her brown hair, which had previously just gone past her shoulders, was now chin length. It didn't look terrible, but it was shocking none-the-less.

"Yes, it was going to be too much of a hassle to comb through it all," She said nonchalantly, "Now, did you ride a horse to get here, or did you walk?"

I stared at her before saying, "My horse is in the main hall, but-"

"Excellent!" She interrupted as she set off from the throne room. I followed her through the many hallways and chambers.

"I can't believe you cut your hair!" I said. I had caught up to her and was now walking beside her, matching her quick pace.

"Why do you care so much? It's hair," The princess replied.

"Yeah, but-" _it was pretty. _I stopped myself from saying the rest of my sentence. Even though it was a mess from her sleeping for one hundred years, it still looked nice. It was her only redeeming quality.

"Prince, it is useless to dwell such fickle thoughts, even though your brain seems to run on them" She said as we entered the main hall, "Ah, here we are!"

I ignored her and crossed over to my horse. He whinnied when he saw me. I patted him on the nose, then went to my pack on his back to get him an apple.

"You have a beautiful horse," The princess commented as I fished out the apple. I fed him the apple and he neighed happily.

"Thanks," I said turning towards her only to see her stretching her hand to pat him on the nose.

"Be careful, he doesn't like anybody but me," I warned.

"Nonsense," She said, but at that moment, Demon snapped at her. She shrieked and quickly pulled her hand to her chest.

I smirked and rubbed Demon's neck.

"Told you," I said, "Demon only likes me."

"Appropriate name," She muttered before she said, "Right. Now, I'm assuming you have food?"

"Yes, I do," I said, furrowing my eyebrows, "Why?"

"Why?" She repeated, "Because we are going to need it for our journey to my fairy godmother's house! I have a map of Hulion, so we don't-"

"Wait, what? We're not going to you fairy godmother's house! We have to go back home," I said.

She turned towards me with a look of fury on her face.

"We have to find out why everyone is asleep! Don't you care?"

"Look, Princess, I-"

"_Rory!_" She snapped.

"Fine, _Rory_, but I was only supposed to wake you up, bring you back to my country, get married, and have a stupid happily ever after. I wasn't supposed to go find a fairy godmother!" I said angrily.

"Well, I'm not going with you! I'm going to find her with or without you, so get used to it!" She shouted at me. Wow, she really had a short temper. Unfortunately, she had gotten on my last nerve.

"You will have to go without me then, because traversing through a forest is the last thing that I'm doing!" I shouted back.

"Fine! Be that way, you selfish brat!" She yelled. Then she turned on her heel away from the main doors and to the left of them.

"Where are you going?" I shouted after her.

"What do you care? You're not coming with me!" She said as she kept on walking.

"Good luck without any food!" I yelled after her, but she continued down the hallway until she turned left.

I sighed. In the hour that I had known her, I had already figured out she was stubborn to a fault. I knew she wouldn't come back.

I rolled my eyes as I realized that I couldn't leave her alone. I grabbed Demon's reins and lead him down the hallway that the princess had just gone down. Demon whinnied inquisitively.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I have to be chivalrous, don't I?" I asked a mute horse. I sighed once more.

"I really hate women."


	5. In Which We Get Hopelessly Lost

**In Which We Get Hopelessly Lost**

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><p>By the time I caught up with the princess, she was on the city side of the castle, just about to walk through the gate into it.<p>

"You walk fast," I told her, but she didn't respond. I raised my eyebrows at her unusual silence, but said nothing.

We walked through the city gate into the main street. It was absolutely eerie. People were strewn all over the cobblestone sidewalks, which were now sprouting tall grass through the cracks. Shops with old broken signs were lined up next to each other, but there was no smell of bread or signs of business. It was way to quiet for a city.

"Do you know where we are going?" I asked her as we neared the edge of the town.

She didn't answer. She didn't even acknowledge that I was walking right beside her.

When we reached the edge of town, she stopped, pulled an old map out of her pack, and studied it for a few moments before rolling it up and veering to the right.

"Hey," I said as I followed her, "You want to fill me in on where we are going? Or at least how long it will take us to get there?"

Still no response.

Now, back home, I had my fair share of experience with women. I knew there were three ways that they dealt with anger, none of which were a healthy way.

First, there were the women that cried tears of frustration. I had never really cared for weepy women, so these relationships did not last long (not that they did in the first place).

Second, there were the women who yelled. I had pegged the princess as one of these women. The problem with these women was that if you didn't like being yelled at once, you might as well stop the relationship immediately, because, odds are she will yell at you a lot more in the future.

And thirdly, the women who ignored you. I hadn't had too much experience with these kinds of women, but when I did, it only intrigued and infuriated me. They would brood for days on end while I tried to figure out what I did wrong or fix it. In short, I followed them like a lost puppy.

Now, realizing that the princess was just ignoring me, I decided that I would not try to make amends. I would be as silent as she would be. I knew she would be the first to break the silence. The only way she knew how to breathe was only if she were talking. And she would have to eat sometime. Therefore, since I was the one with the food, she would have to ask me for food.

We continued for the rest of the afternoon in silence except for the birds singing. Occasionally, she would unroll the map and study it, then look up and continue on her way.

When I heard her stomach growl, I grinned, knowing it was only a matter of time before she cracked. But instead, she located a raspberry bush and collected them. The smile fell off my face as she ate the berries. I could have sworn I saw her smirking as she ate them.

Soon, however, I noticed that she kept looking at her map more and more with a confused look on her face. I knew then that we were lost. I refrained from asking her any questions.

I was increasingly getting bored and wanted to talk to her, even if she was annoying. It irked me that I knew she wouldn't talk to me even if I tried to make conversation with her. There had to be some way to get her talking, but I didn't know how. Then it hit me.

Maybe she wanted an apology. But, would she really be that petty? I looked over at her realized that she would.

In my nineteen years of life, I had never once uttered an apology. Saying sorry was for those who were too nice for their own good. And I most certainly was not going to say my first apology to an arrogant princess who thought she knew everything.

But as the minutes passed, I was getting more and more desperate for a conversation. Even if it was a conversation with her.

"I'm sorry, okay!" I burst. She jumped, not expecting this, and turned towards me.

"I'm sorry that I yelled and said I wouldn't come with you, alright?" I said in a rush, "Just stop ignoring me!"

She looked at me and I noticed her gray eyes again. She smirked and said, "It took you long enough."

I stared at her as I realized what I had just done. Not only had I just apologized for my first time, but I had also let her know that I wanted to talk to her and notice that I was alive. I had just inadvertently let her hold a power over me, and I didn't like it one bit.

"What?" I yelled angrily, although I was more upset with myself than her, "Your silent for over half a day and all you wanted was an 'I'm sorry'?"

"Well, yes, but also I wanted you to swallow your pride," She said smugly, "And you did marvelously. Honestly, you lasted longer than I thought you would."

With that, she turned and began to walk again.

"If anyone needs to swallow their pride, its you, princess," I said as I followed her, "Your arrogant and selfish and could use a lesson in humility.

She only laughed.

I fell into an angry silence. Why did this _girl_who I barely knew have to constantly get the best of me. I was beginning to have my doubts about following her. She seemed to be fine and she didn't really need my help anyway. But of course I had to do the "right"thing. And plus, my parents would have never forgiven me if I didn't bring home a princess.

As we continued in the woods, the princess kept checking the map more and more often. I then noticed it was almost dusk. This made me nervous, especially since we were in the middle of the Wild Lands.

"Um, princess?" I asked nervously.

"Rory," She corrected without looking up from her map.

"Yeah, whatever," I said, "Is there any chance that we are close to your fairy godmother's house?"

She sighed and rolled up her map.

"No. We're just going to have to camp out here tonight," she said as she began to pick up sticks to start a fire with.

"Wait, out here?" I said, slightly panicking. Only slightly.

She looked up at me inquisitively and said, "Yes, why?"

"It's just that there are ogres and trolls and giants out here," I said shrugging, trying to look nonchalant.

She straightened and studied me for a moment before bursting into laughter. She had a nice laugh. Even if it was a malicious one.

"Your afraid of trolls and giants?" She asked between waves of laughter.

"Well, no. But I don't want them attacking and eating us while we sleep," I said confusedly.

The princess started to lay down the kindling for the fire.

"Giants don't exist," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, and up until today, neither did sleeping princesses," I responded. She looked up at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said as she shook her head and returned to making a fire. I shrugged and crouched down and helped her.

By the time we got the fire going, the sun had already set. I fed Demon, and then got food out of the saddlebag for the princess and myself.

After I had finished my meal, I unwrapped my arm. It looked the same as it had this morning, only puffier. I touched it then hissed in pain.

"What happened?"

I looked over and saw that the princess was studying my arm.

"I got burned by the dragon guarding your castle," I told her.

She gently took my arm and looked at it. "It's going to get infected soon if you don't put any medicine on it."

"Well, I don't exactly have any medical supplies with me," I replied.

She took out her water canteen and poured some on my wound before bandaging it up again.

"Thanks," I said as I inspected the bandage.

"Once we get to Mathilda's house we should be able to get a salve on that or something," she told me.

"Who?"

"My fairy godmother," She responded.

"Oh."

An uncomfortable silence fell on us. The princess fidgeted a bit.

"There was a dragon guarding my castle?" She asked all of the sudden. I looked at her before answering the question.

"Yeah. It seemed pretty determined to keep people away. Everyone in that courtyard had been burned to a crisp," I said.

"You're lucky to be alive then," She responded.

"Princess, luck had nothing to do with it. I'm just naturally quick-witted as well as handsome," I said, only half-joking.

She rolled her eyes at me but said, "Keep dreaming, prince."

"Speaking of dreaming, I would like to get some done tonight," I hinted subtly.

She rolled her eyes again, but said a goodnight to me before lying down to sleep. I walked over to Demon to make sure he was fine, then laid down to sleep.

I fell asleep rather quickly considering my nervousness about the woods.

I was startled awake at dawn by loud, horrible noise. I immediately jump up and draw my sword as look around for the source of the noise.

I hear it again, this time from behind me. I whirl to confront whatever beast is making the noise. Again there is nothing there except for the sleeping princess. As I lowered my sword, the princess let out a very loud snore. Who knew that someone that petite could produce such a noise?

I put my sword back in its sheath and walked over to the snoring princess. I crouched down and shook her gently.

"Princess, it's time to wake up," I said gently. Almost immediately, her fist crashed into my eye, and not the one she had already punched the previous day. I fell backwards clutching my eye and yelling a few choice words.

"Go away..." I heard her mumble as she shifted to her stomach.

Still holding my eye, I got up and walked over to her again. I warily started nudging her with my foot.

"Stop! It's too early," she growled as she took another swing, this time only hitting air.

"Wake up!" I said as I continued to nudge her, "We need to get going."

"Five more hours," she groaned.

"What? In five hours it will be almost noon. We will have wasted an entire day!" I told her.

"Ugh, I don't care," She moaned angrily, "Just go away and let me sleep!"

"Princess, get up."

"No."

"Please get up?"

"No."

"Rory, would you please get up?"

"Leave me alone, Colin!" She half-yelled, half-groaned.

"Fine, I'll leave you here," I told her, even though I knew she could probably last on her own.

"Fine, let's see you get anywhere without a map," she mumbled into her arms.

I had finally had enough. I stooped down, picked her up, and slung her over my shoulder. For the first time that morning, she opened her eyes.

"Put me down! Put me down NOW!" She screeched as I walked over to Demon.

"No, I don't think so," I replied. I then slung her over the saddle so she was now lying across it.

"This is stupid and immature! Let me down!" She screamed at me.

I ignored her and started to feed Demon. Before I knew it, the princess had slipped from the saddle and was now standing in front of me. She looked beyond angry and her face resembled a tomato.

"You-you are a-"

"Hey, you're up!" I said jovially, "Good morning!"

She blinked several times with her insult lost on her lips. She looked around as if realizing that she was awake.

"It's dawn?" She asked incredulously.

"Yep. I wake up at dawn everyday," I said as I started to untie Demon from a tree.

"You wake up at dawn?" She shrieked, "Every day?"

I turned and gave her a look.

"Um, yes. I think I just said that," I said slowly.

She shook her head and muttered something about stupid morning people and went to her pack to get some water. After we had eaten breakfast, we packed up and started traveling.

The princess would still take out her map every so often and look at it in bewilderment before rolling it up once again and continue walking in no general direction.

Eventually, she stopped with map in hand and turned in circles.

"There should be a road here...," she muttered.

I stopped beside her.

"Why don't you just admit that we are lost?" I asked her.

"We aren't lost!" She snapped, "I just...don't know where I am."

"Also known as lost, princess," I said.

"Oh, what do you know?" She asked irritably, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

"If it weren't for me, you would still be in the castle, snoring away!" I retorted.

"I don't snore! Princesses don't snore!" She yelled. Her face was once again turning an unhealthy shade of red.

"Well, than you must not be a princess, because if someone banged cymbals together, nobody would hear them because of your snores!" I replied cheekily. In a weird way, getting her worked up was entertaining.

My attitude only seemed to anger her more. She turned and stalked off leaving me behind. I rolled my eyes, knowing that she was going to ignore me once more.

Suddenly, the princess screamed just as I watched her disappear into the ground. I second later I heard an impact.

"Princess!" I yelled as I rushed over to where she fell.

I gasped.

She had fallen face first into hidden hole. Her clothes were now dirty with mud. But that wasn't what concerned me.

She had fallen into the hole right beside an ogre.


	6. In Which I Earn A New Nickname

**Oh my stars! You guys are awesome! Over 200 visitors and 500 hits and 6 reviews! Keep reading and enjoying and I love you all!**

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><p><strong>In Which I Earn A New Nickname<strong>

"Ow, my ankle," The princess moaned to the ground, unaware of the sleeping ogre right in from of her.

"Princess, don't make any sudden moves," I whispered. She raised her head to find herself face to face with the ogre.

"There's a-oh my-it's a-" she stuttered, obviously panicking.

"Shh. Princess, don't wake it up," I whispered to her.

"Prince, help me!" She hissed.

"Alright. Stand up and I will pull you up, okay?" I asked.

She nodded and slowly started to rise. She used the edge of the hole to help herself up, favoring her right foot. The top of the hole was about three feet taller than her, but when I reached down, I reached her hand easily.

I started to pull her up, sliding my hand down to her forearm for an easier grip and grabbing onto her other arm. Just as she was almost up, things got definably worse.

"What's this? A meal escaping? I think not!" A voice came from the whole.

At the same moment, the princess screamed as she was dragged back into the hole. Fortunately, I still had a hold of her. I tried to pull her up, but the ogre was still holding onto her legs.

"Help me, Colin! Please!" She screamed hysterically.

"I am. Don't let go," I told her as I tried pulling her up to no avail.

"Don't let go, Rory," I repeated, starting to panic. I was obviously not as strong as an ogre. How was I going to pull her up?

I watched as her face changed from desperate and panicked to determined and fierce. She raised the leg that the ogre wasn't holding onto and bring it down hard on its face. Startled, the ogre loosened its grip on her leg and I quickly pulled her up.

"We need to move fast," She said, "Ogres are very fast runners and I have a feeling this one isn't going to let us go that easy."

I nodded. I quickly mounted Demon then pulled her up behind me. I could hear the ogre already starting to climb out of the hole.

"Hyah!" I yelled at Demon as I urged him into a gallop. The princess wrapped her arms around my waist tightly to avoid falling off. It was strangely comforting.

"You can't get away from me that easily!" I heard behind me, "I haven't had a decent meal since your father was born!"

"How would it know when my father was born?" I asked to nobody in particular.

"It's a figure of speech, Prince!" The princess said. I could practically hear her eyes rolling, "Just focus on riding!"

I heard the ogre pursuing us from behind. It didn't really matter which direction we were heading; we were lost in the first place. I could swear that the ogre was gaining on us.

Then all of the sudden, I heard nothing from behind us. The only sound I heard was Demon's hooves hitting the forest floor.

"Did it give up?" The princess asked, thinking along the same lines as me.

"I don't know. But I'm not going to stop anytime soon just in case," I responded.

Suddenly, the ogre was right in front of us. The princess wasn't kidding when she said that they were fast runners.

Demon stopped short and reared up on his back legs, making us fall of his back. I twisted in the air so that I wouldn't land on top of the princess. When I hit the ground, all the breath in my lungs escaped.

Demon, instead of staying, bolted through the trees. I slowly got up and was momentarily distracted by his cowardice.

"No! He had all my food and water!" I said.

"Uh, I don't think that is the main issue right now, Prince," The princess whispered as she stood up, still favoring her ankle.

I remembered why Demon ran and quickly turned around. I placed myself a little in front of the princess and she put her hand on my shoulder, clinging to my shirt.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," It said, "Instead of just an appetizer, I get a meal as well."

The ogre must have been at least 8 feet tall and was more muscular than anyone I have ever seen. It could crush our bones to dust with a single hand with no effort. It held a crude mace made out of wood, but that didn't make it any less deadly. But what surprised me most about it was that it was wearing a dress. I then noticed the rest of its anatomy.

"Why, you're a woman!" I exclaimed unthinkingly.

She roared at me making both the princess and I jump.

"No! A woman is human, you insufferable fool! I am an ogress!" She shouted, "The fiercest ogress there ever was!"

At that moment, I was struck with an idea. I took a small step forward, with the princess's hand still on my shoulder.

"I'm sure you are," I said, "I'm sure you have killed hundreds of men before me."

"Five hundred and twenty-three," she said, somewhat proudly.

"Wow, that is a lot!" I said admiringly, "You must be very skilled to catch and kill that many!"

I took another step forward, but the princess wouldn't let go. I subtly detached her hand from my shirt and took another small step.

"Yes, I am," She smiled to herself. Then she looked at me suspiciously before narrowing her eyes and saying, "It is soon to be five hundred and twenty-four!"

She pointed her mace towards me and I raised my hands in surrender.

"Hey, no arguments here," I said, "You caught us fair and square. But you must be very popular with all the ogres. Someone as fierce as you has to be."

Her mace lowered and so did her shoulders.

"No, I'm not," She said, "I'm not attractive enough."

It was true. She was dead ugly, but she was an ogress. I couldn't imagine some ogres being more attractive than the other.

"Now, I'm sure that's not true," I said consolingly, "I think you are a very attractive ogress."

She dropped to the ground and put her face in her hands and started sobbing.

"That's the reason why!" She sobbed, "I look good to humans, I am very ugly!"

I quickly realized my mistake. Pretty to a human was ugly to an ogre. Ugly to a human was pretty to an ogre.

I crossed the distance between us and crouched down next to her, putting my arm around her. I really hoped that she didn't decide to kill me all of the sudden.

"Oh, no, no," I soothed, "That isn't what I meant at all. What I should have said was 'You're very ugly to humans, but an attractive ogress.' You must forgive me for my mistake. I forgot that I needed to tell you were ugly to humans."

When she continued to weep, I said, "I have seen some gorgeous ogresses in human terms. It was terrible. You are nowhere near as pretty as them."

She looked up at me. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, you are disgustingly ugly," I told her. I looked up at the princess, "Tell her how ugly she is, Rory."

"You're so ugly, you make me want to puke," She said, fighting a smile.

I returned my focus to the ogress. "See, if you are that ugly, there has to be some ogre out there for you."

For the first time in my life, an ogress smiled at me. We both stood up and she wiped her face of tears.

"Yeah, you are right," She conceded.

"Of course I am," I agreed, "Now all you need to do is find him!"

Her smile fell from her face.

"What?" I asked concernedly.

"To get an ogre, I would have to prove myself to him," She said downcast, "It used to be easy in the olden days. All you had to do then was bring down a tree with your bare hands or cut off a child's thumb. But times have changed and ogresses have to do more daring things."

I sure was glad I never grew up in the "olden days". Seemed rather dangerous for children. I pretended to think for a moment before snapping my fingers.

"Hey, I have an idea!" I said to her.

"What? What?" She asked eagerly.

"How daring would it be if you lived among humans for an entire six months without eating them?" I asked excitedly.

She considered this.

"But what would I eat?" She asked.

"Well they would feed you, of course," I answered, "You could have anything. A whole cow, roast pig, bear! It would be a very daring thing to do, and when you get back, all the ogres would be falling at your feet!"

"Do you...know people who would take me in for six months?" She asked hesitantly.

"I sure do! If you go to the capital city of Tealm and go to the castle, they will let you in. Oh, and take this," I said as I pulled a coin with my family crest on it out of my pocket, "Give this to them and explain the whole situation. I'm sure they will help."

She took the coin and looked at it then back at me. For a moment, I was afraid she was going to change her mind and kill us anyway, but then she wrapped her huge arms around me and gave me a huge hug. Just as I was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, she released me.

"Thank you! Your kindness is overwhelming," She said. Then she picked up her mace and disappeared quickly into the woods.

Everything was silent for a few minutes before the princess started laughing hysterically. I turned towards her and started to laugh as well. A couple minutes later, we were starting to compose ourselves. We looked at each other and started laughing all over again.

"I can't...believe that...you charmed an ogress," She said, calming herself.

"Just call me Prince Charming," I said as I bowed.

She giggled at that.

"I don't think that I've ever seen anything as weird as that," she said, "You telling an ogress how ugly she is. Nobody will believe us when we tell them this story."

"Nobody," I agreed.

I then noticed her ankle.

"Are you okay?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She said dismissively even though her face said differently.

"I don't believe that for a minute, Princess," I said.

She shrugged but didn't argue. I knew that since my horse had deserted us, I was going to have to walk. Since the princess's ankle was hurt, I knew that I was going to have to carry her. I walked over to her

"Well, you can't walk, so I'll carry you," I said stretching my arms out

She shook her head.

"No, I have another idea," She told me, "Turn around and bend your knees."

"Why?"

"Just do it, okay?"

I sighed and did as she told me. A few seconds later, I felt weight on my back, which made me stumble forward. The princess wrapped her arms around my neck, but not so tight that she chocked me.

"Now, but your hands under my knees and hold me up," She commanded. I followed her directions.

"What if I need to draw my sword?" I asked.

"Well, then I will get off your back and we will both draw our swords," She said, "Now go."

"And where to, Princess?" I asked, a little put off she was telling me what to do.

"It doesn't really matter. We were lost even before the ogress. Maybe if we go in one direction, we'll end up somewhere I recognize."

I agreed and started forward, picking a random direction to go.

"Prince Charming," She chuckled queitly, "As if."


	7. In Which We Get To Know Each Other

**In Which We Get To Know Each Other**

For awhile it was quiet. The Princess was on my back and I was walking in no specific direction. I opened my mouth several times to say something, but each time I thought better of it and shut my mouth. However, the Princess soon broke the silence.

"I have a question, Prince," She stated. My foot snapped a twig, which startled a chipmunk into a tree.

"What?" I asked warily. I was sure she was going to ask something demeaning.

"You didn't want to come to get me in the first place, correct?" She asked.

"Yes," I answered cautiously, hoping it wasn't a trap. She couldn't hurt me if I had said the wrong thing. Then again, she did currently have her arms wrapped around my neck.

She paused before asking her next question. "Then why did you come anyway? Surely your parents can't force you to come".

It was true. In the strictest sense, my parents couldn't force me to get the princess. But I knew it was easier to just do what they said anyway.

"Well, it's usually easier to go without a fight when it comes to my parents. Especially my mother," I answered. I felt her shift on my back.

"How so?"

"Well," I said, thinking, "Once, when I was a six, I refused to pick up my toys in my chamber. My friend, who is the prince of Natsikap, was visiting and had told me that all his servants picked up his toys all the time. I thought that it wasn't fair that he didn't have to pick up his toys and I did. So I stopped picking my toys up. My father took me aside and told me that they made me pick up my own toys so I wouldn't become spoiled and not become dependent on servants, whose jobs were hard enough".

"And you started picking up your toys after that?" The Princess asked.

"No," I laughed, "I didn't. I wish had though".

"Why? What happened?" She asked, fully intrigued now.

"My mother told all the servants to stop setting out and washing my clothes, making my meals, making my bed. All my tutors stopped teaching me, which was great for awhile. Whenever I asked them about it, they told me that they didn't think it was fair that they had to do those things for me when other children did those things themselves. I eventually caught on and started cleaning my toys up. After that, there was no trouble".

She started to laugh. Once again, I noticed how nice her laugh was.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing...it's just funny," she said and laughed again, "But that was from you were a kid then. Surely they can't do anything to you now".

"That's what I thought too, but throughout the years, whenever I did something wrong, my mother always took something necessary and important away. A more recent example is my brother's stupid ball," I said.

I saw her look at me quizzically from the corner of my eye. "Your brother's ball?"

I sighed and explained, "Yeah. Derek decided that he wanted to throw a ball to find a and nobles were invited and he insisted on every maiden in the kingdom being invited too. He ended up dancing with one nameless girl all night and she ended up running out on him. So, he decided to search for the girl by taking the glass slipper and having every maiden try it on until it fits the right girl".

"Well that's kind of..." She searched for the right word, "Stupid. What if it fits a girl who was not the one that danced with him?"

"That's what I said!" I exclaimed. It was nice to know that somebody saw the faulty logic in Derek's plan.

"But anyway, back to the point. My mother wanted me to go to the ball but I thought it was dumb. I tried to make the excuse that I didn't want to wear the stupid fancy clothes. That turned out to be a mistake".

"Oh no," the princess murmured.

"Oh yeah," I said, "The next day, I found that all my clothes had been completely cleaned out. I had nothing to wear except underclothes. I couldn't exactly leave my chamber in those so my only choice was to give up and go to the ball to get my clothes back."

She started giggling. "So you gave in?"

I shook my head and said, "I should have right away, but I didn't. I went for about half a day until I got hungry and thirsty enough to give in."

Her giggling turned into laughter, which was loud seeing as her head was on my shoulder. The noise scared a flock of birds out of their trees.

"Your mother is brilliant," she said taking large breaths as she tried to calm herself, "A genius! I think we should get along splendidly when we meet."

I turned my head, trying to get a good look at her. I hadn't thought about her meeting my mother. I didn't think that she would want to. I figured that we would go to her fairy godmother's house, wake everyone up, and we would go our separate ways.

The thought of going our separate ways made me sad for some reason. Even though I had just met her and she was annoying to no end, I didn't want to part ways that suddenly.

I turned my face forward again. I could see the princess turning red in peripheral vision, but she didn't seem angry. I decided to change the subject.

"So, what about your family?" I asked her.

She hesitated a moment before answering, "Well, compared to your family, they are not all that interesting. I'm the only child in my family."

"That must be nice," I said wistfully

"Not at all," she said as she shook her head, "It's actually very dull. When I was young, I would create chaos just for something to do."

"You would?" I asked skeptically. She didn't really seem like the type to ever step a toe out of line.

"Oh, yes! I played pranks on almost everyone. My favorite was the time just after Mother told me how her and Father had met. I convinced Father to inspect the armory right after midday meal instead of going to the throne room as usual. Mother didn't know that he went. So just before she came into the throne room, I put a frog on Father's throne," she started to laugh, "Her face was beyond words."

I was confused. Sure it was funny to imagine the horror on her mother's face, but if it were me, I would have put the toad in her throne or even her hair. I was sure I was missing something important.

"Wait, what?" I questioned, "I'm not sure I understand."

"I suppose I should explain," she stated. I nodded my assent.

"When my mother was my age," she started to explain, "She would go down to the well by the castle. She liked to sit there and think. I suppose she just liked to watch nature."

"Okay," I said, "That doesn't really explain anything."

"I'm not finished!"

"Oh," I mumbled, feeling embarrassed," Go on, then."

She heaved a long-suffering sigh but continued, "One day she was throwing around a golden ball that she had gotten as a birthday gift. She accidentally threw it into the well. Since it was golden, it sunk straight to the bottom. Mother was extremely disheartened. Then a frog spoke to her saying-"

"Wait," I interrupted, "The frog_ spoke?_"

"Yes," she answered like it was one of the most obvious things in the world.

I shook my head. I should be getting used to strange things by now, but a talking frog seemed really...random. I was starting to get a sense of what her prank meant.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing. Keep talking."

"Alright," She said slowly, "Anyway, the frog told Mother that he would get the ball exchange for a kiss."

"Gross," I said repulsed.

"That's what Mother thought, but she agreed. So the frog went down and brought the ball up, but when Mother got the ball back, she blew the frog a kiss and ran back to the castle."

"Well, that was rude," I said. A deal is a deal. She should have kissed the frog like she had promised.

"I always thought it was rather clever," She told me, "Technically she completed the agreement because the frog never specified what kind of kiss."

"So, if I had blown you a kiss, would that have been perfectly fine for waking you up?" I countered.

She was silent for a moment as she processed this. I was actually surprised that I had managed to prove her wrong-and we didn't even fight.

"Well, tell me the rest of the story," I suggested.

She cleared her throat.

"Later that day, she went to her bedchamber and found the frog sitting on her writing table. He demanded a proper kiss for his efforts, and this time, Mother actually did. The frog then turned into a handsome prince. Long story short, they fell in love and married each other, and they eventually ruled the country," she finished.

"So, he married her? Even after she did that to him?" I asked skeptically, "Why?"

"They fell in love, Prince," she answered simply.

"But she broke her promise. She lied to him. That doesn't seem like a good way start a relationship," I said. I was having a hard time thinking that he had just forgiven her for that. First impressions were pretty important.

"Relationships aren't perfect and not all of them start out perfect either. Loving someone is knowing that there are imperfections in each other but accepting them anyway," She replied.

"I suppose," I said, but I didn't say anything else.

We continued walking throughout the day. I learned that her favorite animal was a chinchilla because it was so soft and her favorite color was green. I told her more about my parents and my brother while she told me about how she loved to sword fight and sew.

I honestly couldn't get a grasp on her personality. One moment, she was telling me about how she loved shooting pigeons out of the air and the next she was saying that she loved needlepoint. It was almost as if she did everything.

We stopped a couple times for water and the Princess identified some edible berries that we ate. As the sun started setting, I suggested that we stop for the night, and she agreed. I set her down in the grass and started making a fire.

When the fire was shining brightly and darkness had fallen, I lay back in the grass and looked up at the leaves in the trees.

"How did Tealm get out of its bad ruling?" The Princess asked suddenly.

I shifted to my side to get a better look at her.

"Well," I started, "About eighty years ago, Queen Talia was the ruler of the land. She would imprison people for no reason. She demanded every luxury while her people starved. She raised taxes for everyone and instead of making things better for the people, she used it for herself. She set up a communal fund that everyone would put their earnings into and everyone would get the same amount. Since people were trying to make ends meet for themselves, what they got from the fund was almost nothing. Some people stopped working because they knew they would still get money if they didn't work."

"That's terrible," She murmured.

"Yeah, it was," I agreed, "Anyway, the queen was very vain and she had a magic mirror that would answer any question she had honestly. When the mirror told her that a girl named Snow White was prettier than her, she ordered her to be killed. The girl fled into the Wild Land-well, these woods- and met the Seven Heroes."

"The Seven Heroes? Who are they?" She questioned.

"Hold on a second, I'm getting there," I told her then continued, "The Seven Heroes took her in and when they heard her tale, they grew angry. They sneaked into the castle at the dead of night to kill the evil queen. But the Talia had asked the mirror where Snow White was and had gone disguised as an old woman to the house of the Seven Heroes. She tricked the girl into eating a poisoned apple. When she made sure the girl had died, she went away, celebrating her victory. But the Heroes encountered her on her way back to the castle and the killed her. When they returned home, they found Snow White dead. They built her a glass casket and put her in it. A prince had heard about the girl and came to see her. He found her dead, but for some reason decided to kiss her. When he did, Snow White woke up, and all was well. The End."

There was a silence that followed the story before the Princess asked, "You are a descendant of Snow White?"

I shrugged, which is hard to do when you are lying sideways.

"That's what I was told, but I always just thought it was another fairytale. But maybe it was really who knows? If you're real, why not Snow White?" I mused.

She lay on her back and stared at the canopy of trees.

"I am real," She whispered. It was so soft that I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear it.

I started to feel my eyelids closing. I was dead tired from walking with her on my back.

"Yeah, you are," I mumbled, "Goodnight, Princess."

Just before I closed my eyes, I saw her turn towards me with an unreadable expression on her face. My last thought as I drifted off to sleep was how pretty Rory looked in the firelight.


	8. In Which We Have a Chat with Trolls

**In Which We Have a Chat With Trolls**

The next morning, I was unexpectedly shaken awake. I opened my eyes and saw the princess staring down at me. Considering the struggle it had been to wake her up the previous morning, I could only assume that something was wrong. I sat up quickly and looked around for any danger, but saw nothing but the trees and the early morning light shining through them.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I turned to look at her. She looked excited and she was practically bouncing.

"Come over here," She whispered. She stood up on her good foot and hopped over to a nearby tree.

I got up and walked over to her and stood behind her.

"Why are we whispering," I, in fact, whispered into her ear.

"Shh! Look!" She said as she pointed beyond the tree.

I looked to where she was pointing and saw yet another strange occurrence.

About thirty yards away, little people with large noses and yellowish, wrinkled, wart covered skin were going about their business in what appeared to be an encampment. Some were carrying bundles of sticks for fires they where stoking. Others were making swords on anvils along with other metal weapons. A group of them were around a large table covered in tables.

The houses where dome shaped and seemed to made of grass. They were all the same size and were spread out sporadically. Some had smoke coming from small chimneys.

"Trolls," She gasped, "They are the best mapmakers in the world!" Then she did the exact opposite of what a normal person should do. She hopped out from behind the tree.

"He-" She called just before I covered her mouth with my hand and wrapped my arm around her waist as I dragged her backwards. Almost immediately, she twisted her head and bit my hand. I cried out in pain and let her go.

"You bit me!" I exclaimed as I examined my hand.

"Well, don't put your hand over my mouth!" She said angrily.

"Well, you were about to walk towards a colony of trolls!" I retorted.

"So?" She questioned. She was looking at me like I was a complete idiot even though she was the one that was going to walk into a troll nest.

"So," I said matter of factly, "I've heard stories about how they will skin you alive and eat you. They sit under bridges and-"

"Well, you've heard wrong," she interrupted, "They happen to be extremely friendly. Several of them are my friends."

I rolled my eyes and I noticed a little too late that our voices had gotten to loud. We had drawn the attention of the trolls, who had grabbed their weapons and were now surrounding us. The Princess turned around and saw that the three foot trolls now had their weapons pointed at us. Her eyes widened.

"You should listen to him, missy," One of them said in a gravelly voice, "We don't take kindly to strangers."

My hand automatically went to my sword, hoping that she would do the same, but she lifted her chin and looked at the one who spoke.

"I think you misunderstand, sir. I am not a stranger. I am-"

"We don't give a cat's tail who you are. You're just lucky that you have lived this long. Don't expect to live much longer," Another one sneered.

"Yeah, they seem _very_friendly," I muttered sarcastically.

The princess's hand started inching toward her sword, but she still spoke.

Please, if you just understood who I was, then-"

"Understand our blades!" Yet another troll said as they all raised their weapons. I unsheathed my sword and steeled myself for attack. The Princess put her back to mine, but still didn't draw her sword.

"Draw your sword!" I hissed at her.

"It won't help. It's rusty like all the other swords were at the castle," She whispered back to me.

At the same time, they all yelled and advanced. Just as I was about to block the first blow, a voice called out.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" Someone called as they made their way through the armed midgets. An even more wrinkled and warted troll broke through the crowed.

"Tiurf!" The Princess looked relieved, which must have been a good thing.

The troll bowed. "Princess." He then turned around.

"Do you idiots have any idea who you are about to kill?" He shouted at them. Even though the newer troll seemed to be helping us. I didn't lower my sword. Rory gave me a look and pushed my sword down with the back of her hand.

"I-intruders, Lord Tiurf," The first one said in a trembling voice.

"No." He drew the word out as if they would were too stupid to understand the word. "This is Princess Aurora Juliette Adelise Chantel and you will show her the _proper_ respect."

For one terrible moment, all the trolls kept their weapons up. Then, one by one, they all lowered their swords, axes, and whatever else they had with them. I could tell by their glares that they would like nothing more than to run us through. Definitely friendly.

"We're very sorry, Mistress." They all bowed to us. They didn't look sorry at all.

"Bah," The one named Tiurf said, "Be off with you!"

They all turned and returned to their original places and resumed working.

"You can put your sword away, Sonny," the troll who had interceded told me as he turned to us.

The Princess dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the small troll. He chuckled and immediately returned her embrace.

"Rory," he said, stepping away from her, "It's good to see you. It's been nearly one hundred and sixteen _annuls_since we've last seen you!"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What were _annuls?_

The Princess stood and noticed my mystified expression. "An _annul_ is the Trollinian measure of a year."

The small guy looked at me and continued, "Yes. Rather than having three hundred and sixty five days in a year, we honor our sacred number, Three, and our years have three hundred and thirty-three days. But excuse me. I don't believe we've met. I am Lord Tiurf, second in the Council of Elders, and the High Lord's right hand man."

I thought the more appropriate term was "right hand troll", but I kept thoughts to myself and took his extended hand to shake it.

"Thank you for your welcome, Lord Tiurf," I responded as I withdrew hand, "I am-"

"Prince Charming," The Princess interrupted. I glared over at her. She suppressed a smile, but I heard a small giggle come from her.

"Prince Charming? What an odd name for royalty. Or for anyone, for that matter," Tiurf said to me seriously, but his eyes told me that he was teasing me.

I rolled my eyes. "My name is Colin. Just Colin. The Princess nicknamed me when I convinced an ogress not to eat us."

Lord Tiurf raised his eyebrows.

"Well, "Just Colin", it is an honor to meet such a persuasive prince." He bowed. "I will lead you both to the High Lord's tent were you can discuss your plans."

He swiftly turned and started waddling (I mean, _walking_) towards the encampment. I followed after him before realizing that the Princess had stayed where she was. I remembered that her ankle was still hurt and returned to her and let her climb onto my back.

"Thanks," she muttered as I caught up to Tiurf.

I raised my eyebrows in mock shock. "What? No witty retort from her Royal Highness? Is that actual gratitude?"

"Be quiet, Prince Charming."

I chuckled but then she briefly tightened her arms around my neck. Not enough to completely choke me, but enough to make me produce a gagging sound as I inhaled.

"I could drop you," I threatened.

This time she laughed. I sighed and shook my head and followed Tiurf. I saw some female trolls stop and stare at us as we passed some of the grass houses. Tiny trolls, who I assumed to be child trolls, were running around with rocks attached to rope and throwing them at each other. These people had some strange parenting techniques.

We reached the center of the village and found the largest dome house of all. I went in after Lord Tiurf.

The inside was dark but had many pillows on the ground to make a soft sitting area. There weren't any tables. In the center of the hut was a fire that burned. The top of the dome house had a circular hole to allow smoke out.

The Princess got off my back and let herself plop down on one of the many pillows. She stretched her ankle out in front of her and groaned. Tiurf fixed his eyes on her.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"Yes. I fell in the forest yesterday and twisted my ankle." She shifted uncomfortably. "I fell into an ogress's hole."

He knelt down to examine the makeshift splint I had made then stood back up. "I'm disappointed, Rory. I thought you knew how to make a proper splint. This is the worst one I have ever seen!"

She glanced at me briefly before pretending to look ashamed. "I must have forgotten," She said, hiding a smile, "It was a stupid mistake, I assure you."

I cleared my throat indignantly. She bowed her head so Tiurf would not see the grin that had spread on her face.

"I will get someone to tend to your foot as well as fetch the High Lord then," He said as we walked out of the hut.

She snickered has she looked at me. "I suppose that your career as a doctor is now over, considering how you can't even make a _proper_splint."

"That's alright," I raised my chin, "I already have an occupation as Prince of Tealm."

"That's hardly a job."

"And being a princess is?"

"No, but being a queen is," She replied, "Since I am my parent's only child, I have been trained since I was young to be a good ruler of my kingdom."

I thought about that. I had always been forced to attend lessons about ruling with Derek. I had always thought it pointless since he was to be king, but I was told that every prince should know how to rule. I attended every lesson as a child, but then started skipping as I got older. When I discovered the appeal of girls, my attendance in lessons was even scarcer. It wasn't until I was sixteen before I was once again forced to have a tutor for such lessons.

"Now listen," She said seriously, "Trolls are very temperamental and opinionated beings. They love to start arguments and win them with very twisted logic."

"Lord Tiurf seemed nice enough," I defended.

"Lord Tiurf has a fair mind. He's what the other trolls call...odd. Along with the High Lord and the third troll in the Council of the Elders. But they know that it is best that "odd" trolls are in the Council of the Elders. If not, then this whole clan would destroy each other because of their many arguments," She explained.

"I see."

"As I was saying," She continued, "Be sure not to disagree with a troll. If you do...Well, let's just say that the greeting that we received when we first arrived was a walk in a meadow compared to the farewell that we would be receiving."

I nodded my head. They seemed like very dangerous people to be around. I wondered how the Princess got acquainted with them.

"How did you come to meet and get along with them?" I asked her.

"That is a very excellent question!" Said a voice that was most definitely not Rory's.

We both turned and saw a troll who was clothed in very rich and gaudy clothes.

"High Lord Gnik!" She gasped, "What a pleasure!"

"Even though it has been a while, you can still call me Gnik," The new troll grinned then turned to me, "And you must be Prince Charming, as Lord Tiurf called you."

I sighed and shook my head knowing I was fighting a losing battle. "My actual name is Colin, but feel free to call me Prince Charming. Everyone else does."

He laughed and sat down across from us.

Tiurf has told me of your injury, Rory, and I assure you that my wife will soon be here to tend to it," He told her before saying to me, "Perhaps some treatment for your bruised eyes would do some good as well."

The Princess shifted as I smiled and said, "Thank you but I believe it wouldn't help. I seem to have run into some fists on my travels here."

He smiled back at me. "I assume that you have found out that waking Rory is quite a dangerous task."

I nodded. "Yes. In fact, I think that I would rather face another ogress than wake the Princess up again," I teased.

Gnik started to laugh and I joined in when the Princess huffed indignantly.

"Take no offense, m'lady," Gnik said through laughter, "You know that we both care deeply for you."

His words instantly sobered me. I knew that he was speaking what he thought was truth, but it made me uncomfortable. I had absolutely no idea what she meant to me. I mean, I had only met the girl two days ago. But I don't think I have even gotten close to caring _deeply_ for her. The thought made my face warm.

Rory looked over at me and suppressed a smile, but mercifully said nothing.

"So, how _did_ you two meet?" I asked, changing the subject.

"My, my," Gnik said, "That was a long time ago wasn't it?"

The Princess nodded.

"I was visiting her father working out some peace negotiations," He started, "I first saw little Rory then. She was about five-years-old and cute as a button."

"I was not cute!" She said embarrassedly.

"You were too and don't you forget it," Gnik countered, "But she was about as mischievous as she was cute. I recall you tried several times to break into my chamber to see if I had any humans for eating."

"I was curious!" She defended as she looked over at me. I raised my eyebrows and met her gaze as if saying, _I'm not the only one who thought those legends were true_.

"Of course, I was a child at the time," She said pointedly

Ouch. Point taken.

"Yes, quite right," Gnik put in, "An easy fable to fascinate the mind of youngster. But back to our story."

"I was quite enthralled at how Gnik described his village. When he got ready to leave our palace, I stowed away."

"You can imagine the surprise of the village when we unpacked and saw that we had brought back a child," He chuckled, "For some reason, the village was quite taken with her. But she was very distressed when she learned that she had to return home."

I tried to imagine a much, much younger version of her jumping out a bag of potatoes or something yelling "Surprise!" For some reason, I couldn't imagine that anybody but Gnik was taken with her at all.

It also occurred to me that they weren't the least bit concerned that she hadn't aged one bit in over one hundred years

"Is there any other surprise friend's that we might meet on the way to your godmother's house?" I asked sarcastically.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to say something but Gnik cut her off.

"You are going to Miranda's?" He asked. At that moment Tiurf and another troll, a female, came into the hut. She was dressed about the same as Gnik but had a much smaller frame, which made her look like she was drowning in them.

"Colin, may I introduce my wife and third in the Council of the Elders," Gnik said grandly. The woman troll bowed to us.

"My name is Neeuq," She said seriously before she knelt and started to attend to Rory's ankle. Judging by the her face, Gnik's wife wasn't being all that gentle. Tuirf sat down and looked at us expectantly.

"Well, now that all of us are here, you may begin," Gnik nodded at us. It took me a second to understand that I was supposed to start speaking.

The Princess rolled her eyes and began from the day of her birthday one hundred years ago. I started to tell my side of the story and she made sure to fill in all the little details that I had missed, which irritated me to no end. Halfway through the story, Gnik's wife finished wrapping the Princess's ankle and sat down with the other two. The whole time she kept a permanent scowl on her face, while the other two looked genuinely interested in our somewhat boring and not-at-all dangerous journey here.

As soon as we had finished (or as soon as Rory had finished), Tuirf clapped his hands together and said, "So the curse was not lifted fully then. I think it is very wise to go to her. She did, after all, make the curse a little less harsh than death."

"Wait, w-what-?" Rory spluttered.

"What Lord Tuirf means to say," Interrupted Gnik with a glare in Tuirf's direction, "Is that Miranda would know how to wake everyone up."

"But what do you mean about the curse being less harsh than death?" I asked. All three of them exchanged looks.

"I think it would be best that you speak to Miranda about it," Tuirf told us, "She will explain it better than us."

At this point, I was sure that the Princess was ready to ask questions nonstop until they answered her, but Neeuq spoke for the first time since the story was told.

"I sense some danger that is keeping your people asleep. I believe that your trip to see Miranda is just a stepping stone on your journey to break the curse."

That was not at all what I wanted to hear. All I wanted was for this stupid quest to be over so I could go back home, sleep on some actual mattresses, eat food that had twelve different gravies and sauces, and just relax again. An actual adventure didn't sound appealing at all. The Princess's face seemed to agree with me.

"Well, I think it would be best if we fed and supplied you so you can be on your way," Gnik said.

"So you're not going to tell us anything?" The Princess asked angrily, "You are just going to let us keep going and not give us a speck of information about our problem?"

"As we said before," Neeuq said, "It is best if Miranda herself tells you."

"But isn't it your job as the Council to provide some aid? Not just send us blindly to someone else who can give us the answers just as well as you can!"

Even though I agreed with what she was saying (or yelling, depending on which way you define it), I saw that Neeuq's frown had deepened and Tuirf's jaw had clenched. She had insulted their job as Council leaders and the last thing I wanted to do was get on the bad side of nice trolls.

"Rory," I said quietly as I put my hand on her arm. She straightened as if she had been shocked and looked at me. After a moment, she looked away and shook my hand off, but she seemed to calm down. I could tell she was still angry.

Gnik cleared his throat. "We _will_ provide aid for you. You obviously cannot walk on that ankle anymore. We are going to provide you with the best mule we can as well as an updated map for your journey."

When she said nothing, I spoke for her. "Thank you very much for your generosity."

They all nodded. I'm pretty sure that Neeuq's frown lessened a little. Soon, however, we were fed and given extra packs along with a mule.

Just as we were about to leave Tuirf, Neeuq, and Gnik came over.

"We would like to speak to Lady Rory in private," Neeuq told me.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I'll just...leave then," I said awkwardly. I didn't exactly know where to go, but I walked in between some houses that were only as tall as me. I looked back and saw the four of them talking. I was kind of upset that I couldn't be included in their conversation. I was traveling with the Princess after all.

"M'lord!" A voice behind me called. I turned.

In front of me were two female trolls (trollettes?) holding chickens. While the sight itself was strange, their request was a little more so.

"My neighbor and I have been quarreling over whose chicken has the best feathers. It is said that humans are as wise as the Council of Elders. Would you please tell my neighbor that my chicken has the best feathers," Said the first one.

"Oh, shut it you old bag. Mine is obviously the better," The second one said.

"Shush, you toadstool. Let him decide that mine is better than yours, "The first one retorted.

I remembered what the Princess had said about not getting involved in the arguments of trolls.

"Um, I'm sure they are both great in their own respects," I said politely, "But I really must be going now."

I turned and started walking back towards Rory. I saw that the trio of trolls were giving her a map when I heard from behind me, "I told you he would be too cowardly to tell us the truth."

Now I have been called many things in my life, some worse than others, but never has any insult gotten to me more than "coward". I absolutely detested that word.

I spun around on the heel of my foot and approached the ladies once more. I nodded my head at them before I crouched down and studied the two chickens very closely. Then I stood up.

"Your chicken's feathers are more vibrant than her's," I pointed to the first one's chicken, "But her's has more feathers. If you were to ever to show your chickens for a prize, I would put them each in a different category and they both would win first place respectively."

They still didn't look to happy with my answer but they both bowed and gave their thanks before turning and continuing to bicker about their chickens. At least they weren't calling me a coward now. Or a chicken.

When I returned, the Princess was up on the mule.

"What took you so long?" She demanded. I shook my head in response.

"Prince Colin," Gnik said, "It is my hope that we see each other again."

"Yeah. I hope to see you again too, High Lord Gnik," I told him. He smiled knowingly, which I didn't like at all.

I took the reins of the mule and began leading it out of the village.

"Goodbye!" The Princess called back to them. They raised their hands in response.

As soon as we were well into the woods, she took out the map they had given her and said, "Well, that was interesting."

"It sure was," I agreed.


	9. In Which We Talk of Names

**This is probably one of the shortest chapters that I've done so far. Thank you guys for all the great reviews! They are so helpful and I'm glad to know that you guys are enjoying them. You guys are so great! Over 1,700 hits and 585 visitors! I love you all so much1**

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><p><strong>In Which We Talk of Names<strong>

The visit with the trolls had unsettled me, but I could tell that it troubled Princess Rory even more. I couldn't help wondering why the three trolls had needed to talk to her alone. Whatever they had said had clearly upset her; she barely looked or talked to me. Needless to say, it was very uncomfortable.

When it started getting dark we stopped and set up camp. I offered to help her of the mule, but before I could assist, she slipped of its back and hopped over to where I had made a fire and sat down. I shrugged and tied the mule to a nearby tree. I rifled through he packs that the trolls had given us and found some smoked pork. We would be eating very well, compared to the previous night.

As we were heating our dinner over the fire, I noticed that she had a new sword.

"They gave you a sword," I said, hoping that her foul mood would blow over, "You can't fight with a rusty sword. That was very nice of them."

"Yes it was."

Conversation attempt failure number one.

I tried again. "So...when should we expect to arrive at your godmother's house?" I asked.

"Probably by early evening tomorrow," she replied morosely as she continued to stare into the fire.

"That's good," I said awkwardly, "Are you two close?"

"Yes."

Conversation attempt failure number two. Well, third time is the charm.

"I wonder if he has a name," I said.

Rory looked up and stared at me. "What?"

"The mule. I wonder if he has a name," I repeated.

She looked at me like I had just sprouted violet feathers. "Probably not," She said slowly.

"That's too bad," I replied, shaking my head sadly, "We should give it a name. How about...King?"

She shrugged. "Sounds good."

"What about kids?" I persisted. I determined to get her talking. I didn't like her upset. "What would you name your firstborn?"

She was silent and she looked back at the fire. I knew she was unhappy, but I didn't know what to do to at least make her smile.

"Hey, is something wrong?" I asked quietly.

"No. I'm fine," She said a little too quickly.

"Oh yeah, I see that. You are your normal, argumentative, irritating self right now," I said rolling my eyes.

She looked up at me and the fire danced in her gray eyes. "It's just...I don't think that going to Miranda's will solve our problem," She said, "I think there is something else going on here."

I didn't really know how to respond to that. Neeuq had said something similar to that. I had a suspicion that the Princess was worrying for nothing, but I didn't say anything.

She sighed and continued, "And I know that Miranda can't interfere. So...I will be alone to figure it out."

I raised my eyebrows and almost laughed. She was upset that she was going to be alone in trying to find out what was wrong with the people of her kingdom? I felt like a piece of liver.

"I'll be there to help, Princess," I said. I really didn't mean anything special by it, but she blushed and smiled at me. _Finally_.

"Thanks, Prince Charming, but I doubt that you will want to help any longer than you have to," she said.

"No," I shook my head, "I will see this whole thing through. I'm not going to quit on you."

She fixed me with a stare. "And why is that?"

It was a simple question, but I found that I couldn't come up with a reasonable response. Answers kept getting jumbled in my head which made me even more confused about how the question was supposed to be answered. In the end, I just gave the ultimate generic answer.

"I don't know."

She seemed disappointed by my answer and once again looked into the fire. An uncomfortable silence crept up on us as we waited for our food to finish cooking. When it was done, we ate in silence until Rory broke it.

"Rapunzel."

I looked up at her, thoroughly confused. "What?"

"You asked me what I would name my firstborn. If it was a girl, I would name her Rapunzel," She answered.

I snorted. "Where do get a name like that? That's just begging for your child to get made fun of."

"I happen to think it's a very pretty name," She sniffed. I shook my head at her.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Every name has a meaning," I said, "What does Rapunzel mean?"

"I don't know. Not every name has to mean something," She countered.

"Yes it does," I retorted, "For example, my name means-"

"Stubborn idiot?" She guessed with a smirk.

"Ha ha, very funny," I rolled my eyes, "But that would be the meaning of your name."

"I beg to differ. My name means 'of the dawn'. I was given the name because I was born at dawn."

"See, even your name means something. Wouldn't you want to give your child a name that means something and doesn't sound like a fatal disease?"

"I think it is a perfectly acceptable name. And for all you know, it could have a very special meaning to me," She said before taking a bite of her meal.

I sighed. "And what if you have a boy? Will you name him Jibberjab?"

"Agh! You're impossible!" She exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air.

"I try," I grinned at her. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her food.

After a moment she said, "I would name him after his father."

I thought about that for a moment. "It would be awfully confusing when you called for one, but they both responded to you."

I imagined hearing my name being called and turning to the person only to realize that I wasn't the one they were talking to. "Colin! No, not you. The other one. Yes, _that_ one."It would be very frustrating.

"I would have a nickname for one, of course," She said, "For instance, you would be Colin, but he would be Col."

I raised my eyebrows and smirked as she realized what she had just said. She turned bright red but managed to keep her composure.

"That, of course, is only an example," She justified. I shook my head.

"Are you sure, Princess?" I teased, "Your blushing face says differently. I know that I can be pretty irresistible."

"To a cow, maybe," She snorted. This time I laughed at her insult. She tried to look outraged, but due to her obvious embarrassment, I could only laugh harder.

"It wasn't that funny," she muttered, but she was wearing a small smile. At least she was in a better mood now.

We went back to eating our pork. As we did, I watched the Princess in the firelight. She would constantly tuck her hair behind her ear, but since it was so short, it would become un-tucked again. I remembered her long knotted hair and thought about how wild she looked when I first met her. It was strange to think that it was only two days ago now.

She must have felt me staring at her, because she turned and looked at me.

"What?" She asked self-consciously. She started to brush her face with her hand as if she had something on it.

"Nothing," I said, quickly averting my gaze, "I was thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing."

"How is that any different from usual?" She asked.

I half-smiled at her and took my last bite of the food. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep." I started to lie down.

"Okay," She replied as she watched the fire.

I looked over at her. "You're not going to sleep now?"

"No," She shook her head, "I don't go to sleep early. I don't wake up early. It's against my religion."

"Maybe if you went to sleep earlier, you could actually get up without physically harming anyone," I said.

She scoffed. "You sound like my mother."

"She is a very wise woman then," I replied. She snorted a laugh.

"Go to sleep, Prince Charming."

And I did just that.


	10. Author's Note

A/N

Okay , so I hate it when author's put up an authors note. You see that they have updated and you are just so excited to read the next chapter, but then BAM! It's just a stupid person talking about something that you don't really care about.

Oh, wait…

Anyway, I feel like it needs to be said that I can no longer write this story.

Haha, I'm kidding. I would never quit this work of fiction.

Seriously though, the whole point of this stupid author's note was to thank everyone for the wonderful comments I've been getting. They seriously make my day.

I'm sorry that I take so long to update, but truth is, I'm just so busy! Lame excuse, I know. But it's winter break, so I should get at least two more chapters out. Maybe three.

What I want to know from you guys is: What do you think is going to happen? Where do you think this story is heading? I already have the whole plot laid out in my head, but I want to know you peoples opinions. Let me know in the comments!

Thank you guys again for your support. Bless your face!


	11. In Which We Arrive

**So you all are great! I would like to thank all the people for favoriting and receiving alerts for this story. It means a lot!**

**IMPORTANT! Well, not really, but read anyway. I have an account on a site called which is a site to publish your own original works. It's actually really awesome. Anyway, an amazing girl on their named Samantha Deemer made this really cool COVER for this story. Got to the LINK on my profile to see it! Trust me, it's AWESOME! Then TELL me what you think of it!**

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><p>It was still dark when I woke up to the sound of Rory's snoring. I rolled over on my stomach and buried my head in my arms in an attempt to fall asleep again. Another loud snore came from her direction. I groaned inwardly and tried my best to block her out. After a few minutes, I knew that going back to sleep was going to be impossible.<p>

I sat up and saw that the sun was just about to rise. I looked over at the Princess' sleeping figure. I knew that she would not appreciate being woken up this early, so I got up and found some honey bread and figs in King's saddlebags. I then took the map from her bag. I knew I would need it later.

As I sat down to eat my meal, I started to think about my past week. At the same time the previous week before, I would have been waking up from a warm bed and having my meal at an actual table eating a warm meal. Now, because of a girl I barely knew, I was in the middle of a forest sleeping on bare ground with nothing but a blanket. The strange thing, however, was that I didn't really mind. Besides the ogress, things weren't actually going that badly. And it was nice to get away from my brother's moping.

If I were to be honest, however, I would say I envied Derek. He actually believed that this girl might be the one for him. Sometimes I believed it too. I mean, what girl would run away from an actual prince? It was proof that she wasn't after him for money or prestige. I seemed to get all of those girls, which wasn't so bad at times, but after a while, it got tiring. I looked over at Rory and thought about how she didn't care at all about my status as prince. Of course, it was easy not to care when you are a princess.

I waited an hour before I decided to wake Rory up. If my black eyes had taught me anything, it was that she was very abusive when she woke up. I knew I would have to find a creative way to wake her.

I gathered some pebbles from where I was sitting and started tossing them lightly at her. At first nothing happened, but then she snorted in her sleep and shifted. I threw another pebble. The Princess growled, literally growled, and swung at empty air. I bit back a laugh as I threw another stone.

"Stop!" She whined with her eyes still closed. This time I laughed aloud.

"It's time to wake up, Princess," I said as another pebble hit her.

She turned over with her back facing me. I shook my head but kept tossing the small rocks at her. I knew it was a matter of time before she would have to wake up. Suddenly she sat up and looked over at me with wild eyes.

"I will destroy you," She threatened me. I might have believed her if she hadn't looked so hilarious with dirt and leaves in her hair.

"If you can catch me," I taunted as I stood up and went over to King once more and untied him from the tree.

"I hate you, just so you know," She groaned with her head in her hands.

I walked over to her and held out my hand to help her up. "That might be so, but we have a fairy godmother to attend to."

She looked up at me as if suddenly realizing why we were in the middle of a forest before accepting my help up. She stood on her good foot and strapped her sword around her waist as I stuffed our blankets in one of the saddle bags. I brought the donkey over to her and helped her onto it.

"Wait, what about breakfast?" She asked once she was on King.

"I already had mine, but thanks for asking," I said and flashed a smile at her.

"You really know how to wake up a girl, you know that?" She said to me, "I've plotted your demise at least six times in the past two minutes."

"Well, it's good to know that you think of me." I took hold of King's reins and pulled out the Princess's map.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Yeah, it is."

'Give it back!"

"No, I don't think I will, Princess." I folded the map up and put it in my shirt pocket and started forward, pulling King with me. "Oh, and there is some bread and dried fruit in the saddlebags. There's your breakfast."

"Prince Charming, I think your nickname is a misnomer," She sneered as she reached into one of the bags.

"You are the one who gave it to me," I reminded her. She took a bite of an apple that she had found and chewed thoughtfully.

"Maybe the only things you can charm are ogres. I think it's because you share much of the same similarities," She said after a moment.

"Oh funny. Really," I said sarcastically.

She smirked at me and took another her apple. We continued on our way in a comfortable silence. We stopped around noon to eat then kept going. We started to talk of our kingdoms and I learned that hers spanned to the ocean. She told me that her great-grandfather was quite a renowned sea-farer and when he found his wife, it was "quite a catch for him".

"What?" I asked her.

"Well, let's just say that she was the one fish that swam to him," She said cryptically.

I still didn't understand but all she did was laugh.

"So tell me, what's your godmother like?" I asked eventually. I could picture a fat, short woman waving around a wand saying things like "Lickety Lack!" and making flowers grow.

"Well...She's...a bit eccentric," She said.

"Eccentric?" I asked. Now my mind was picturing a short, fat woman who was twitchy and unpredictable.

"Yes. She likes to call herself 'ahead of her time'," The Princess informed me, "She talks strangely and likes to dress in odd clothing. And if she asks about indoor plumbing, just nod and ignore her."

"Indoor plumbing?" I don't know why I kept asking questions; it just kept getting more and more confusing.

She sighed. "She seems to think that it will be popular someday. We will have water by the turn of a handle and flushing t-to-tolens. At least that is what I think she says it is called."

I didn't ask what she was talking about. I figured things would be better explained when we met her.

Just as I was about to suggest that we stop and eat some dinner, we came upon a ruined village. It looked like it had once been a quaint little town that was busy and full of life, but now it just looked creepy. Houses were broken down and ivy covered. I could see where there had used to be stables and stalls, but were now just rotted wood and dirt. But the weirdest thing was the people. People were everywhere just laying all over the place in no particular order. They had all fallen asleep on the spot.

"Where are we?" I asked. I tried to direct King so he wouldn't step on anybody. That would be bad.

"This is Vieux," She replied, "Miranda lives on the edge of it."

I looked over at her and noticed she had turned a little pale.

"Hey, Princess, you don't look so good," I said stupidly, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," She snapped at me, "It's just odd. I _know_ these people, and they are all are as still as if they were dead."

"Don't worry, Rory," I tried to reassure her. When she didn't look any less worried, I continued, "Seriously, they will all wake up soon. All we have to do is get to your godmother's house."

She didn't respond at first, but then she lifted her hand and pointed to a boy about nine-years-old clutching a rotten basket asleep against a wall.

"That's Philip. He would always give me free bread whenever we came into town. Last time I saw him was one hundred _years_ ago."

I shivered. These people looked exactly the same as they did a century ago. As I looked around I saw that none of their clothes were rotted or moth eaten.

"What has kept them from being eaten by animals?" I wondered out loud. I heard a gasp from the Princess and looked back to see horrified expression on her face.

"Why-How could you-That's-" She spluttered.

"Okay, okay! Nevermind. I was just wondering," I muttered.

We managed to successfully get across town without stepping on anybody. I was really getting hungry but the Princess said that we were only a little way away from her godmother's house. Just as it was getting dark, I spotted a house. That was fully intact. And had lights shining out the windows.

"Mir!" Rory exclaimed as I let out a sigh of relief. We weren't the only ones out here. I could hear singing and clanging inside the house, which was extremely comforting, considering the silence around us was suffocating.

I adopted a faster pace until we were almost to the house when the Princess stopped me.

"Wait, tie the donkey to the post over there," She told me.

"His name is King," I corrected, "And what about your ankle?"

"I think I can manage. And if I can't, you can help me."

I didn't think it was a good idea to let her walk on it, but I didn't argue with her. Soon, I had tied King to the hitching post and helped the Princess off of the poor donkey.

"We will feed you soon," I said as I patted his nose.

We got our packs off the donkey. I offered to carry her, but she declined and threw her arm around my waist. I shivered.

"Just let me walk, okay?" She said. I ceded and helped her hobble over to the door.

The noise in the house was loud. I could hear a woman singing and...A cat singing? We reached the door and I lifted my hand and knocked on it. All noise inside the house stopped immediately. A minute passed. Then another.

I looked over at the Princess and she shrugged with a half smile. "Try again."

I did as she said, this time a little harder. Another moment passed before we heard some shuffling on the other side of the door.

"If you are a robber, nothing in this house would mean anything to you. So, if you will, please leave, before something drastic happens that neither of us will like," A voice from behind the door threatened.

"If I was a robber, I wouldn't have knocked politely on your door," I countered. Rory let out a laugh and shook her head at me before stepping closer to the door.

"And," She added, "Someone once told me that sometimes the things that mean the most mean nothing at all."

Before I could even blink, the door opened to reveal the strangest looking woman I had ever seen. She was wearing a long, bright green skirt with a multicolored shirt that clashed horribly with her skirt. She had beading everywhere and she had a ring in her nose that made her look very odd. Her arms were bare except for a bracelet that and unintelligible markings on them. She had short dark hair, and in it, she wore feathers that were all different colors.

She barely even glanced at me before she wrapped both me and the Princess in a huge hug. I was unsure of the protocol here. Was I supposed to hug her back? I didn't even know her

"Rory!" She squealed, "It's great to see you! Oh my! It's been, like, forever!"

"Hello, Mir," The Princess said, laughing.

Her godmother released us and stepped back. "Well, come in!"

I once again supported Rory as we walked into the house. Miranda noticed her bandaged ankle and narrowed her eyes at me but didn't say anything as I led the Princess over to a nearby chair. I grimaced. I didn't really want to make enemies with the very person who was supposed to get us out of this.

"So, I see this young man hasn't taken very good care of you on your journey here,"The godmother said. I winced but then she continued, "Although, I see you've left your mark on his eyes, Aurora."

I smiled. Looks like we were even. Kind of. Okay, maybe I still owed her one because I'm pretty sure a sprained ankle is worse than two black eyes.

"Just give me a moment and I will fix that ankle," Miranda said as she left the room.

While she was gone, I got a chance to look around. The walls were covered in pieces of paper with writing on them and various artwork and gadgets that looked rather dangerous. There were ancient looking rugs on the wood floors and small tables covered with maps and candles and glass bottles with tubes attached to them that had smoking liquid in them.

"What are they?" I asked the Princess.

"Who knows?" She shrugged, "Experiments of hers that haven't quite worked out, I suppose. Better not ask unless you want to get a lecture on the beginning of time and how much we have progressed."

"Hmmm," Was all I said. I noticed a blue and red fish in a bowl on one of the tables. I approached the table and knelt down so I could see it better. I noticed as it swam around the bowl, that it changed colors. One minute it was blue, the next it had changed to a bright yellow.

"Woah, what kind of fish is this?" I asked the Princess, but it wasn't her who answered.

"That is Gretchen," I stood up and turned around to see Miranda coming back into the room with a large pot. "I really don't know what he is. I kinda just found him."

"He's been alive almost as long as Mir has," Rory added. I found it odd that she named a male fish Gretchen, but I figured this wasn't the most peculiar thing about her.

"And how old are you?" I asked her godmother. I didn't realize how rude it sounded until after I said it, but all she did was laugh and set the pot down in front of the Princess.

"I didn't get your name," She said as she started to unbandage her god-daughters foot.

"I'm Colin," I told her.

"A prince, I'm assuming," She looked up at the Princess, who nodded.

"And you woke Aurora up?" She now asked me. She looked like she already knew the answer. I really didn't like the suggestive look she was giving me. The Princess was starting to turn cherry colored.

"She gave me this nice black eye for it too," I said pointing to my right eye. Miranda smothered a smile and took the Princess's un-bandaged ankle in her hand and examined it. She winced in pain as her godmother touched a particularly bruised part. It looked worse than it had yesterday.

"What are you going to do?" Rory said through gritted teeth. I walked over to them to see that the pot was full of a sweet smelling liquid.

"I hope you would have more faith in my abilities, Aurora," She responded before putting the injured foot into the vat. The Princess relaxed. Maybe it was just because I didn't know Miranda that well, but I doubted that it would be that painless.

Turned out I was right. Miranda started to hum and immediately, the Princess gasped. I heard a sickening crack from her ankle. Miranda stopped humming.

"Well, that was shorter than I thought it would be," She said to nobody in particular as she took out a towel and started drying off the Princess's ankle. I noticed that her jaw was still clenched.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. For a moment, I thought she was going to punch me but then she nodded.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" She answered, "My ankle was just mended and I'm pretty sure it hurt worse to fix it than it did when I originally hurt it."

I rolled my eyes but still said, "At least you didn't cry either time."

"Well, wasn't that brave of you, Aurora," Miranda said as she stood up, "Now, who's hungry?"

It was wonderful to finally sit at an actual table again. There was hot soup and freshly cooked pork. It all looked mouthwatering.

As we sat down, the Princess looked at her silverware and picked up a fork.

"What is this?" She asked me. I looked at her incredulously. Was she being serious?

"That's a fork, dear," Miranda answered for me, "You use it to eat. The other one is called a spoon."

She looked down at the spoon and picked it up and stared at it closely.

"What do they do?"

"You've never seen a fork or spoon before?" I asked. She glared at me.

"Colin," Miranda said, "Aurora lived one hundred years ago. Then, they ate with their hands. It's only natural that she doesn't know what they are. Here, dear, I'll show you how to use them."

To be fair, the Princess did try to do her best using the utensils, but she held them so awkwardly that I could not help but chuckle at her. Even Miranda found it humorous.

However, the strangest part of dinner was when a striped, grey cat strutted into the room and leapt up onto the chair next to the godmother. Miranda then proceeded to load the plate in front of it with food. After she had finished, the cat put its front paws on the table and started eating. Rory and I shared a confused look.

"Erm...Mir, why...?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm being rude! Aurora, Colin, this is Sunnie. Sunnie," The cat looked up at Miranda, "This is Princess Aurora and Prince Colin."

"Meow," The cat greeted us before going back to its meal.

Alright. That was...odd. I shared another look with the Princess.

"I'm assuming that the cat-" The cat started to growl at me, "Sorry. I'm assuming that _Sunnie_ is a newer addition."

"You know what they say about assuming," The godmother said with a twinkle in her eye. I tried not to look confused, but must have failed miserably. "Nevermind, dear."

After we had finished dinner, Miranda asked us what exactly happened to us in the past couple days. I told her about the dragon I had to fight before I actually got into the castle.

"So, you, like, actually harmed it?" She asked, obviously impressed, "That's...Wow."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I continued to tell the rest of the story. Every so often (well, very often), the Princess would cut in and correct me on something. When we told her about the ogress, Miranda burst into laughter and didn't stop for five minutes. Sunnie must have gotten bored of our story because she jumped down from her chair and stalked out of the room.

When we finished, Miranda looked at Rory.

"The Council told you something," She stated, staring hard at the Princess.

"Yes, they did," She responded quietly. Miranda nodded.

"Right. Well, we can talk about it later," She said to us.

"Wait! What?" I almost shouted, "We have some questions too, you know. For example: _How do we get everyone to wake up_?

"Colin," She said calmly. For the first time I looked, really looked, into her eyes. Even though she seemed to be about ten years older than me, I could see that her eyes spanned generations. Not just past either, but future as well. It was disorienting.

"It is best not to discuss these things at night," She said before releasing me from her stare, "I'm sure you both are tired. You should get some sleep and I promise that we will discuss everything tomorrow."

I wanted to argue. I looked over at the Princess and I could tell she wasn't happy about it either. We got up and helped to clean up. Miranda then took us up to a second story to show us to our rooms.

"This one is yours," She said to me as we reached the first room on the right, "And Aurora, yours is just across from his."

"Thank you, Fairy Godmother," I said. I was pretty exhausted.

"Oh goodness, dear, just call me Mir," She said with a smile.

"Alright. Thanks, Mir," I said.

She tutted then went back down stairs. I stood there for a moment with Rory before saying, "Well, goodnight Princess."

"Goodnight, Prince Charming," She said as she went into her room. A moment later, the door was closed. I yawned and went into my own room and found that there were night clothes waiting for me on my bed.

For a moment, I wondered how Miranda knew that I was coming, but then I realized that she had know that someone like me would be coming for over a hundred years now. I quickly changed into the night clothes, and, within seconds, I was fast asleep.


	12. In Which Love is Discussed

**Thank you all for your continued support! Here is chapter 11! I can't believe it! I got two chapters out in less than a week! Pop the champagne, light the fireworks, dance! Any way, as I said in the chapter before, there is a link on my profile for a cover of this story. Check it out and tell me how you like it! **

**Happy reading!**

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><p>I woke up with the light of the sun in my eyes. For a moment, I thought I was sleeping outside again, but then I realized that the sun was shining through the windows.<p>

I sat up and looked around the room. The room wasn't a very large one. There was a small table with a candle on it beside the bed and a chair in the corner. Unlike every other part of the house, the walls and floor were barren. It gave me a sort of lonesome feeling.

There were new clothes on the chair. I went over and found a blue tunic with a brown vest and brown trousers. I quickly put them on and found that they were extremely comfortable. I put on a pair of soft leather boots that were set out as well. I noticed my sword leaning up against the wall, and after a moments debate, I strapped it around my waist.

I then went downstairs in hopes of finding Miranda, but there wasn't a sound. I stood still for a moment, hoping to hear the sound of someone moving around in the house, but all I heard was the sound of the early birds singing outside. I wondered if the godmother was a late sleeper like Rory was, and I immediately felt awkward. I was about to go upstairs when Miranda came flying out of nowhere and grasped my forearm.

"Oh, erm...Good morning," I said to her, not sure what the appropriate response was.

"Colin! Thank goodness!" She said, completely ignoring my greeting, "Something terrible has happened!"

My insides went cold, but before I could ask what had happened, she dragged me into the main room we had been in last night. She led me over to a desk with a strange, black contraption sitting on it.

"It's ruined!" She cried, "Can you fix it?"

I looked at her with a quizzical expression. I was thinking that someone was in danger, but she was panicked because of a creepy looking metal contraption. I didn't even know what it was, let alone how to fix it.

"Um, Mir," I addressed her, "What is it?"

This time she looked at me puzzled. "Why my dear boy, it's a typewriter!"

Typewriter? Was this woman completely insane?

"I'm sorry, what?" I tried to say as politely as possible.

"A typewriter! You know what it is. You put paper in it and-" She stopped suddenly, "Wait. You don't know what it is, do you?"

I looked at it again, then back at her. "No, not at all."

She burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry," she said still snorting with laughter, "I keep forgetting what time I'm in."

"What?"

"Nevermind," She said as she pushed me out of the room and directed me towards the back of the house, "You smell terrible! There is a warm bath in the back room. Now go and I will fix us some breakfast."

She then left me in the hall and went to the kitchen. I made my way to the back room and found that there was a tub of steaming water. I realized that it had been a while since I had actually bathed. I closed the door and pretty soon I was soaking in the hot water.

I laid my head back on the edge and closed my eyes, but then felt like I was being watched. I raised my head and looked around. My eyes fell on Miranda's cat, who was staring intently at me. She was sitting on top of a counter. For a moment we just stared at one another before the cat opened its mouth.

"Meow."

I wasn't sure how to react, but for some reason, I didn't like having it stare at me with its feline eyes.

"Hey, Sunnie. Could you please...leave?" I asked it.

"Meow?" I could swear that the cat had just asked me why. Rather than do what a normal person would do and ignore it, I actually answered it.

"Because...I don't feel quite...comfortable."

Then the cat literally sighed and rolled its eyes before jumping to the floor and walking out a small hole at the bottom of the door. Once the cat had left, I realized that I had, in fact, been talking to a cat. Great. I was slowly going crazy. Pretty soon, I would end up eating dirt or trying to grow chair legs.

I soon was finished with my bath (which strangely was still hot) and got dressed once more and headed to the kitchen. The smell of cinnamon and sugar and bacon reached my nose as I walked in.

I inhaled deeply. "What is that?"

Miranda turned around with two plates of food in her hands.

"Waffles and bacon. Rather a favorite of mine," She said as she set the plates down across from each other. She gestured that I should sit.

I dug into the food like I had never been fed before. The food she cooked was better than I have ever tasted.

"We should hire you at our castle. You would improve the cooking dramatically," I said to her. She smiled.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, but thank you," She said.

"Ah, but flattery is only given when I want something," I countered.

"And what do you want?" She teased.

I pretended to think for a moment before answering, "For you to get rid of my black eyes."

She burst into laughter, and this time I joined her.

"I don't think so," She replied when she gained control of herself, "Maybe it will teach you a lesson."

I rolled my eyes and put another forkful of waffle into my mouth. Suddenly I thought of something.

"Miranda?"

"Yes?"

I calculated what I wanted to say. "Does the Princess always wear...men's clothing?"

She cocked her head and half-smiled. "Heaven's no! In fact she _likes_to wear dresses."

"She does?" Her behavior begged to differ, "Then why didn't she wear one? I'm sure we could have found one at the castle."

I didn't like the look she was giving me. It made me think that she knew something that I didn't.

"Yes, you could have," She responded, "But I believe that she wanted to impress you."

"I-im-impress me?" I choked out. I was getting a weird feeling in my stomach. I was starting to think that I had had too many waffles, "Why?"

The godmother let out a laugh. "Because, Colin, she's quite taken with you."

I would like to say that I came up with something suave to say like "What woman isn't?", but for some reason, the idea of Rory being taken with me made me nervous, like I would mess up somehow and then she would hate me. Eventually, I only shrugged.

"I hadn't noticed," I said before I took another bite of food.

"Yes, well, love is blind," Miranda sighed dreamily. This time, I actually started choking on my food.

"I'm not-we aren't-I don't think it's like that," I said. I could feel my cheeks reddening, "Besides, we only met a few days ago."

"Why, it only took my first husband and me three days to fall in love."

"First?" In Tealm, having more than one husband (or wife) did not come with very good connotations. But the godmother didn't seem to be the sort of people that usually married more than once, who usually hang out in the local taverns.

"Well, depends on how you look at it. He was the first one I met and married, but if we were going on a timeline," She explained, "Then he was the third I met."

"Um..." Now I was beyond confused. Three husbands? How could someone be the first and third person they married?

"But he died," She continued, "Quite tragic actually."

"I'm sorry," I said, "That's terrible. How did he die?"

"A train accident," She answered simply before she took her last bite of food.

"A what?" I asked her.

"Oh, dear, don't worry about it. That's not for some time way in the future," She reassured as she stood up and took her plate to the wash basin. The thought struck me that she since she was a fairy, she could probably travel through time. She was probably in a different time right now, which seemed too odd to think about.

"But we got off subject, didn't we?" She said as she turned back to me, "We were talking about you and Rory."

I immediately tried to shove more food into my mouth in order to evade the conversation, but found my plate empty. I looked up at the godmother morosely. She took my plate and put it in the wash basin as well. I noticed that the dishes started doing themselves. Miranda then came over and sat across from me once more.

"I can only assume that you are quite the player back in Tealm." She stated.

"I'm sorry, what is a 'player'?" I asked. I didn't think she meant a chess player or croquet player.

"It means you are very popular with a lot of women."

Oh.

I smirked. Popular was an understatement. Everyone wanted royalty. "Maybe a couple broken hearts along the way, but I am a prince after all."

She stared at me for a moment.

"What?" I asked uneasily.

"I find it interesting how you can talk about past romantic relationships without a care in the world, however, if the Aurora and romance are said in the same sentence, you turn as pink as the inside of a sow's mouth."

While I found her analogy a bit disturbing, I knew she was right. Maybe it was just because I considered more in a friendly way than romantic. I mean, I had plenty of female friends back home that wanted no relationship whatsoever. Sure, they were usually married or twenty years older than me, but they were still there.

"Anyway, back to the point at hand," the godmother continued, "You are quite popular with the ladies. I can tell by your general demeanor. But, in the interest of looking out for my goddaughter, I must threaten you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. She didn't seem to be malicious about her statement, but I knew that she was being perfectly serious.

"Aurora does not have a gentle or weak spirit, therefore she is perfectly capable of protecting herself, which she does quite often," She told me, "However, I do not think she need to around you."

"I'm not sure what you mean," I said. I didn't realize this was going to be such a deep conversation. If I had, I probably would have stayed in my room until Rory woke up.

"Colin, I'm going to be painfully blunt with you," She leaned forward and clasped her hands together, "You kissed Aurora and woke her up. Now the curse was that only-"

"True love's kiss could wake her up," I finished for her, "I know all this. Why are you telling it to me?"

"Just making sure you understand," She said, but by the look in her eyes, I knew there was something else as well. She stood up and went to look out the window.

"And I think it would be prudent to tell you that she isn't completely clueless when it comes to men and romance," She turned back towards me, "There was a boy named Matthew, so don't think she is starry eyed and naive."

This bit of information intrigued me. "Wait, what?"

Miranda laughed. "Don't get so worked up about it. Someone might actually think you care."

"But, wait, who was it?" I ignored her comment.

"I just told you his name, but I think it would be best for Aurora to tell you about that herself," She answered, "Now, it's time for chores!"

Oh, no. She couldn't be serious.

"Chores?"

"Yes, chores!" She responded ebulliently, "We need to feed the donkey, milk the cow, get eggs from the chickens, split wood for the fire, get fresh water from the well-"

"But what about Rory?" I asked. It didn't seem right that I was going to have to do all this "chores" while she got to sleep in.

"Oh don't worry, dear. We won't be done by the time she wakes up," She assured me, "But if she doesn't wake up by noon, we are going to do the waking for her."

"Oh good, another chore," I muttered. Miranda laughed but pulled me out of the chair and pushed me toward the door. But then I thought of something and turned around.

"Miranda, wait," I said.

"What? These things aren't going to do themselves, you know," she scolded me teasingly.

I ignored her and continued with my thought, "When are all the people in the kingdom going to wake up? Are you ever going to tell us when that will be?"

For the first time since yesterday, her face went completely serious. The lights went out of her eyes and she looked one thousand years old.

"We will talk about that when Rory wakes up. That's something you need to hear together," She said darkly. A long silence followed after that and it made me extremely uncomfortable, so I clapped my hands together.

"So, how about those chores?"


	13. In Which the Author is an Idiot

Yes, this is another stupid author's note. I just want to say that I'm so sorry about the delay for this story. I have been so busy and...okay, to be honest I have a really bad case of writer's block. I know what I want to write, but not how I want to write it. The next chapter is in progress though.

If you would like to read a story by me, however, I have another one up on my profile. It's one that I promised myself that I would never ever write, but the idea just kept bugging me and bugging me. It is a Twilight story. -.- Indeed. So you can hop on over to my profile and check it out. It probably won't be that bad...maybe.

Again, I'm sorry for the delay for _In Which_ and it hopefully will be updated soon.


	14. In Which the Author Continues the Story

Important announcement! I am finally continuing the story! Three cheers!

I'm sorry for the delay...I know, I know. It's been six months. But tomorrow the next chapter is coming!

I want to thank all my followers for believing in this story and all the encouragement. Special thanks to **Lauren Stargazer, sanumy fav, **and **PuckTheJester. **Your faithfulness to this story as encouraged me to continue writing and get over my writer's block.

So until tomorrow!


	15. In Which Things Get Serious

**Okay, I know I said tomorrow two days ago but I had a bit of a family emergency and couldn't post it until now. However, here is the new chapter! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chores weren't really as bad as I originally thought. It wasn't like I was unused to work but I had never milked a cow or chopped wood before. It was all new to me. I ended up getting kicked by Miranda's cow. Fortunately, after laying in pain for a good five minutes, I realized that I would be fine.<p>

"Stupid cow," I muttered as I got up. It only mooed in reply.

"You are just about as well spoken as some of my father's council members," I told it as I tried once again to milk it. About an hour later, I finally had a full bucket of frothy, white liquid.

"Fantastic!" I exclaimed, "I hope that's the last of it"

I picked up the bucket and headed towards the house.

I hadn't noticed last night but Mir had a lot of land. Her little cottage was just a small part of it. Behind it there was a huge meadow. The barn was off to the left and a well at the edge where the field met the forest. It was cozy but at the same time, very open.

I entered the small house and went to the kitchen. I heard murmuring voices and considered for a moment eavesdropping. From the tone of Rory and Mir's voices, I could tell they were talking about something serious. After a second, I decided against listening to what seemed like a private conversation and I strolled into the room.

Mir and Rory looked up at me from the opposite end of the table as I sat the bucket on it.

"Got the milk," I reported as I sat down in the nearest chair.

"Good. And it only took you an hour," Mir responded, "The first time Aurora tried it took her forty-five minutes to fill not even half the bucket. Then she spilled it."

I smirked when Rory looked outraged.

"I was only six-years-old! That doesn't count!"

"Calm down, Princess. I'm sure you are ten times better at everything than I am," I soothed sarcastically, "Except sword fighting. I'm sure I could beat you any day."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed."Please give me some give some credit, Prince Charming. I was trained by the best swordsman."

"Yeah but you've also been asleep for a hundred years. I think your skills might be a bit rusty and your technique a bit...outdated," I countered.

"_Outdated_?_" _Rory asked furiously, "Even if that was true, I'm sure I could win in a fight. You can bet on that."

"Well, as intriguing as this is, you both have more chores to do," Miranda cut in before I could muster up a witty retort, "Colin, you get the eggs from the chicken coup. Aurora, dear, you can start on the laundry. Lunch is a couple of hours s I'm going to make you two work for the meal."

"I'm sorry, but lunch?" I asked, the term foreign on my tongue.

"She means midday dinner," Rory answered me before turning back to Mir, "When are we going to talk about the curse? You-"

"In due time," The older woman interrupted, "Don't worry, all your questions will be answered."

"But you promised that you would explain every-" I started.

"Colin," Mir said firmly, "I will explain things very shortly. I much prefer discussing serious things over meals. Makes it seem like the subject is a lot less dark when you have a nice serving of goose in your stomach."

The Princess groaned and I rolled my eyes but we both got up anyways and left the kitchen together.

"You realize that she is absolutely insane," I said quietly to Rory.

"Most likely, but at least it's not contagious," She replied.

"Oh, I don't know. I think it may be rubbing off on you."

She shoved me with her shoulder before heading into a separate room. I laughed and headed out of the house. I went to the chicken coup which was next to the barn.

"More animals. Perfect," I muttered as entered the small shack. A half hour later and an arm full of wound from chicken pecks. I returned to the cottage where Mir instructed me to do more chores.

Just as I was getting hungry, Miranda said the at "lunch" was almost ready.

"I just need you to get some water from the well then it's time to eat."

I sighed but took the bucket she held out to me.

"This isn't the same bucket as the one I used to milk the cow is it?" I asked warily.

"And what if it is?"

I couldn't think of an answer so I turned to do as she requested. As I was walking across the small meadow I noticed it was a bit colder than earlier this morning. I couldn't help but feel as something was wrong. I shivered.

Just as I was retrieving the full bucket of water I heard a noise behind me. I spun around quickly and my hand went straight for my sword but it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" the Princess asked as she held up my weapon, "You left upstairs. Thought we could settle this fair and square."

She tossed me the sword and pulled her own from its sheath. I looked at her for a moment with raised eyebrows before I chuckled.

"Are you sure you want to-"

"Beat you senseless? Of course," Rory smirked.

I rolled my eyes as I unsheathed my sword. "You asked for it."

For a moment, nothing happened as we waited for the other to make the first strike. Then I attacked to her left which she easily dodged. She then proceeded to go for a direct strike that I blocked with little effort. I quickly found that she had quite excellent defense but her strikes were clumsy. Whoever had taught her only taught her for defensive purposes. Even with her sloppy offense, I couldn't disarm her.

Soon, we were both breathing heavily and trying to gauge each other's weak spots. She struck again and at that moment a wolf howl sounded in the distance. This was the exact thing that was needed because it distracted the Princess long enough to knock the sword out of her hand and raised the tip to her throat playfully.

"I guess I win," I grinned at her. However, when I looked at her, she wasn't angry like I had expected. Her face was pale white and her eyes were wide with fear. I lowered my sword.

"Princess? What's wrong?" I questioned. Another howl sounded in the distance. The sound snapped her out of her trance.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me behind her as she ran towards Mir's cottage.

"Princess, answer me! Rory, what's wrong?" She didn't look back at me but her hand tightened in mine.

"_Loup_-_garous," _she said.

"What?"

Suddenly, almost as if had appeared out of thin air, a deformed looking creature was in front of us. The animal was probably eight feet tall and stood on two legs that seemed very canine. Instead of feet and toes, it had paws. It was covered in fur but there were chunks where it was missing. Its arms were very human as well has its hands but its nails were long and curved. Worst of all was its face. It had a snout of a dog with hugely over sized teeth and very, very large eyes.

"Werewolf," I breathed as we stopped short. We were only halfway to the house. I looked around me and saw that there were about three more.

"Colin, is your sword silver?" Rory quaked.

"No, why would-"

Before I could finish my sentence, she bent down quickly a lifted up her skirt to her knee which revealed a small dagger attached to her leg. She drew it and stood up again.

"These are _loup-garous_. Once men and women that have turned into monsters and the only way to kill them is with pure silver," She explained.

"I don't get it," I said, my fear making me stupid, "They were the ones howling, right? But it sounded like it was miles away!"

"They can run one hundred leagues in an hour," She said breathlessly, holding her dagger in front of her. I readied myself for them to attack.

"Your sword isn't going to do any good!" She hissed.

"Yeah, well, it might do more good than your dagger!" I snapped back at her.

The first werewolf jumped towards us with amazing speed. Rory managed to dodge it but only just. I went to slice its head off but once my blade met its neck, the metal shattered. The wolf man raised its hand to strike but the Princess was quicker. She took advantage of the distraction and sank her dagger into its back. The creature screamed in pain as it melted into a puddle of black ooze.

The other three animals shrieked and started towards us. I reached my arm out in front of the Princess.

"You're going to try and protect me unarmed? Some bodyguard you would be," She mumbled sarcastically.

I ignored her and tried to think of a plan but I kept getting distracted by the werewolves foaming mouths. Before I could think of a good strategy all three of them pounced. I ducked barely in time. I turned quickly only to see that they had managed to grab a hold of Rory and were now all circled around her.

"Miranda!" She screamed and for the first time, her voice was full of raw terror. Suddenly, my vision went red and my mind blank. I raced forward to one with its back towards me and jumped on its back. I grabbed its snout and pulled its head back. It threw me off easily but it was enough for the Princess to get up and start running towards the cottage again. I quickly got up and started after her. She stopped a moment and turned to see if I was following.

"Go! I'm fine!" I shouted at her as we raced across the field. I saw something flash by me and I knew it was heading for Rory.

"No!" I yelled and I launched myself at the creature. Before I could make out what happened, I felt claws pierce my chest. In defense of itself, the werewolf had knocked me away, slicing my skin open.

"Colin!" came Rory's scream as I hit the ground. Pain burst from my open wounds along with scalding burning. The pain was too great and my vision was blurring.

There was a great flash of light and then, nothing.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think. I'm getting back into the swing of things! Leave a review and tell me what you think so far! New chapter soon, I promise. I won't make you wait another six months. :-P<strong>


	16. In Which Things Get Somewhat Explained

**A new chapter! Yay! This chapter was relatively easy to write once I got started. However, onward to the story!**

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><p>First, I heard voices. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying but I recognized one of them as Rory's. I slowly registered pain in my chest. I raised my hand to touch where the pain was and found I was shirtless but my chest was wrapped in bandages.<p>

"He's awake!"

I opened my eyes to see Miranda peering at me from the end of the bed. Before I could gain my bearings, Rory was in my face.

"You idiot! What did you think you were doing?"

The Princess came to the side of the bed and started slapping my arms and chest. I groaned when she hit me. I honestly couldn't get a break.

"Careful, Aurora," Miranda said as she came to stand beside , "He's hurt remember?"

"Serves him right. Trying to be a stupid hero or whatever he was trying to accomplish."

"I was trying," I croaked as I started to sit up and winced, "to save your life, Princess."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. I narrowed my eyes at her in annoyance at her reaction.

"Don't try and act all chivalrous. You could have gotten yourself killed," She stated angrily.

"Exactly!" I exploded, my anger getting the best of me, "I just risked my life for you and you're sitting here yelling at me like I just killed your pet dog. The least you can do is show some gratitude instead of acting like a...like a spoiled brat!"

Her eyes widened at my outburst. My ears felt very warm and I chanced a glance at Mir. She had been silent for the most part, but when I looked at her, she seemed to be half-smiling. I returned my gaze to Rory whose jaw was now clenched. She looked as if she was about to yell at me again but she only stared at me. Then, her face changed to a softer expression and she looked down.

She mumbled under her breath before turning to the door. Once she reached it she paused before turning around abruptly.

"Thanks, Colin."

I raised my eyebrows but nodded.

"We missed lunch because you, though."

With that, she exited the room. I could hear her footsteps going down the stairs.

I let out a sigh.

"She sure knows how to thank a person. I'd like to see her when she is really ungrateful."

Miranda sat down on the bed and put the bag down on the floor before starting to unwrapping my bandages.

"She just doesn't want you to know how worried she was," Mir said, "You should have seen her. You would have thought that you were on death's door by the way she was fretting."

I didn't say anything but thought about this. For all the effort that she tried to make it appear that she didn't care but deep down she really did. I half-smiled and felt

She finished unwrapping my chest and I looked down and saw four long, jagged wounds that traveled diagonally from my right shoulder to the bottom of my rib cage. It had started to heal but there were some places that had started to bleed. She took a bottle and a cloth out of her bag. She opened the bottle and poured a little on the cloth before she started to clean my wound. It stung but I clenched my jaw and dealt with it.

After a while, I decided to ask what was on my mind.

"Will...will anything happen to me?"

She looked up at me and gave me a smile. "No."

I sighed with relief.

"However," she added, "You might be able to see better at night then most people or even smell things better, but other than that, you should be fine."

I nodded.

"I have another question," I told her.

"Go ahead," she put her bottle away and brought out some clean bandages.

"I've heard a lot of stories about werewolves. They are men turning into mindless wolves on only full moons."

"Your question?" Miranda pulled me forward to sit up and started to wrap me up again.

"Those came out during the day. They were all...deformed. We aren't even due for a full moon for at least another fortnight. How?"

"Those were _loup-garous_. They aren't exactly werewolves. They're humans that are cursed but I don't know how or even why. They are half-man, half-wolf with their mind being fully functional but they can't communicate with us. They mainly stay in their own community and are relatively peaceful. They may have lost their normal form but they still have their humanity," she explained.

"They seemed awfully aggressive for being 'relatively peaceful'," I said. She frowned and I couldn't help notice that she looked very old for a moment.

"Yes, they did. Hmm..."

For a moment, we sat there, deep in our own thoughts before she stood up abruptly with her bag in her hand.

As she threw it around her shoulders and headed towards the door, she told me, "Even though it's late, lunch is waiting downstairs for you. There is a shirt at the end of the bed. Put it on and be down soon. It's time I explained things. Oh, and Colin?"

"Yeah?" I answered as she paused at the door and looked back at me.

"If you feel the need to randomly howl...don't."

And with that, she turned and left the room.

As soon as I was dressed, I was once more at the table. The plates were already laid out with food on them. However, it was the same food as yesterday. I looked questioningly at Miranda.

"Leftovers," She said simply, "since we had a lot left last night, we are having the same thing today."

I shrugged. At home, the cooks purposely made extra so the servants could eat as well as my family. However, it made sense that we would eat extra meals so they wouldn't spoil.

The Princess was stone silent at the table but it didn't really deter me. Once Miranda had sat down, we all started eating and it was quiet for a while. Just as I was thinking that the meal was better as leftovers, Rory spoke.

"Tell us, Mir," she demanded, "I want to know what is going on."

The godmother sighed heavily but looked at her. I got a sort of plummeting in my stomach as I knew she was about to reveal what she had been keeping from us.

"Alright," she conceded, "I will start from the beginning. Some parts you might already know but just stay quiet so I can explain it all." Rory sat up straighter and I leaned closer as we prepared to listen to what the fairy had to say.

"Aurora's parents always had trouble having children. She knows this already. She had two older brothers and a sister who all had died within the first week of infancy and two younger sisters who didn't even make it past birth. So when Aurora was born and it was discovered that she was healthy, her parents were overjoyed."

I chanced a glance at Rory. I had an older brother that I had always grown up with and as annoying as he was now, I couldn't imagine being all alone in a huge castle knowing that I could have had siblings.

"There was a huge celebration. Many nobles from different countries came to present gifts. Even some from Tealm, Colin. I was actually appointed as her fairy godmother to protect her. However, there was another fairy that thought she had the right. Her name was Maleficent."

"Wait, I thought you were always meant to be _my _fairy godmother," Rory interrupted, "That's what I was always told."

"Well, yes and no," Miranda responded, "I was only decided upon after Maleficent committed the ultimate taboo for a fairy."

"And that was?" I inquired.

"She used her magic do kill someone," Miranda said wearily, "Aurora' parents tried to imprison her for her crimes, but it's hard to catch a fairy, especially one that doesn't want to be found."

"Who did she kill?" Rory asked.

"Please, Aurora, no more interruptions," Miranda said shortly. There was a tense moment between the two of them and I got the feeling that the godmother never snapped at Rory before.

The Princess looked down and Miranda shifted in her seat.

"Maleficent came with a 'gift' of her own," she continued, "She came like a whirlwind right in the middle of the thrown room where everyone was celebrating. It got so dark when she arrived too. That's what happens to dark fairies; they carry darkness around with them.

"Anyway, she sure made an entrance. Aurora's father told her that she was not welcome but she insisted she had something to give. 'It's quite special, dear King,' she told them. However, it was a curse and a terrible one at that.

"The curse was that when you came of age, Aurora," the fairy looked at her, "you would touch a spinning wheel and prick your finger on the spindle. Once you did that, you and everyone in the kingdom would die."

Silence fell over the whole table like a blanket.

"But, I didn't die," Rory finally said, "I can remember the lady convincing me to try it. Since I never did it before, I wanted to try it out. But I didn't die."

"No," Miranda agreed, "That was because of me. I...I softened the curse in a manner of speaking. It took a lot of effort and I doubt that my magic will be as powerful as before."

Rory looked guilty instantly. She looked down at her lap.

"Rory, it isn't your fault," I said. She looked up at me but didn't say anything. She looked too sad and I almost wished she had snapped at me.

"No, it isn't," Miranda told her, "Don't ever blame yourself at all for any of this. It's useless."

Rory didn't take her eyes off of me and I could see that she was feeling many things at once. Betrayed because this had been kept from her; sad because the things that were sacrificed for her and anger.

Miranda continued, "It took me years but I finally managed to make the curse less fatal. Instead of dying, you only fell asleep as well as the rest of the kingdom. A sleeping curse that could only be broken by true love's kiss. It could only be broken after exactly one hundred years, however. That was the shortest amount of time I could manage."

"I am assuming that there is more," I said, "Rory is awake but the kingdom isn't."

She sighed and looked away from both of us. "One month."

"A month?"

"The curse couldn't be broken, not fully," she responded, "That kind of dark magic can only be undone by something beyond my power."

"Killing," I guessed. I knew that no matter how much Miranda loved Rory, she wouldn't turn dark. It might be considered selfish but I thought of it as tactical. I wasn't exactly sure what dark fairies where capable of but I was positive that if she had turned dark, she wouldn't be able to help the Princess at all. She could have even tried to kill Rory too.

"Why did you say a month?" I asked, "What's in a month?"

"You only have a month from the day Aurora woke up to wake up the kingdom as well. If you don't, not only will they die, but she will too...and you."

"Wait, what?" I jolted, "Me? Why? I don't understand."

"You are a part of this too. I don't know how or why but that is how it is."

Suddenly, Rory's chair scraped backwards as she stood abruptly. Miranda and I jumped at her unexpected movement.

"You didn't think to tell me?" she fumed.

"Aurora-"

"No! Just don't!" she yelled, "If you had just told me about all this _before_ my eighteenth birthday, I would have never touched that thing! Instead, you all have been lying about this all my life and look where it's got us. My kingdom is in danger because of this."

"We were just trying to protect you," Miranda said sadly. I had a feeling that it hadn't been her idea to keep this from Rory.

The Princess looked at her and shook her head as if she couldn't understand what Miranda was trying to tell her.

"Just forget it," she blurted. She turned and marched out of the room. A moment later, I heard the front door slam.

"Is it safe for her to be out there?" I asked. If those creatures decided to come back, I didn't want her to be alone out there.

"They won't come back here anytime soon, I made sure of it," she replied.

I sat back in my chair and looked at my meal. It was cold now and I had lost my appetite when I had found out I was going to die.

"I always wanted to tell her," Miranda looked into my eyes, begging me to understand, "Her parents were terrified of the curse though. The king wanted to burn all the spinning wheels but you see how ridiculous that is. The people needed to make thread for clothing."

I nodded. "When I got to the castle, there was this...dragon. It attacked me but I wounded it."

"That was Maleficent. She knew you were coming," Miranda said.

"How?"

"It was Aurora's birthday," she stated, "One hundred years exactly."

I rubbed my face with my hand. I could feel a headache coming on.

"Alright, what if I had come a day earlier?" I asked.

"You saw those men lying around her bed?" she asked and when I nodded she continued, "They had all tried to wake her up before. I am assuming that if you had come any earlier, you would be asleep too."

I shook my head and sighed as I ran my had through my hair. "So now we have less than a month to...what? Find Maleficent? And kill her?"

"I'm sorry, Colin."

I groaned and put my hands in my head.

"It's not like I really have a choice right? If we don't, Rory dies," I mumbled.

"And the rest of the kingdom," the godmother added.

"And Maleficent sent those werewolves?" I asked as I looked up at her.

"I think so. I don't think she ever expected for it to get this far actually. She's getting nervous."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair once more. Miranda looked over to the window and stayed silent. I couldn't get my head around the fact that only a week ago, I was safe at home. No imminent death, no one hundred and eighteen-year-old princess, no strange wolf-men. I was starting to regret ever agreeing to this. But if I hadn't, Rory would be dead now and I couldn't help feeling sad about that.

"I should go talk to Aurora," Miranda said as she stood up suddenly, "Maybe explain some more."

"No offense," I said as I stood as well, "But I don't really think she would like to talk to you. How about I go?"

Miranda stared at me for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah...I'll just...clean this up then," she gestured to the table.

I nodded and left the room, leaving the disregarded meal behind me.

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><p><strong>There you go! Leave a review on your thoughts so far! I'd really love to hear what you guys think! :)<strong>


	17. In Which We Come to a Conclusion

**Another chapter up! Enjoy!**

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><p>I searched around for a good ten minutes before I found Rory sitting on top of the barn. If she noticed me she didn't give any indications that saw me. I circled the barn trying to figure out a way up before I noticed that there was a rickety ladder on the back wall. Once I had reached the top, I heaved myself up over the edge and made my way over to Rory. I sat down beside her but I didn't say anything. She sighed and pulled her knees to her chest.<p>

"So, my original quest spiraled out of control," I said mostly to break the silence. She scoffed.

"Look, Mir wanted to tell you. Your parents were just trying to protect you," I told her.

"So not telling me was the answer?" she asked as she looked over at me, "Don't you think that the best way would have been to tell me so I would have stayed clear of that stupid spinning wheel in the first place?"

I didn't argue with her. She actually had a good point. It was a wonder that her parents didn't think that this was the best course of action.

"Now, I have less than a month to figure out how to save everyone in the kingdom. If I don't, everybody dies. My parents, my kingdom, you-"

"Matthew?" I blurted. I don't know where it came from and when she gave me a withering look, I regretted saying it.

After a moment, she looked down at her knees.

"Mir told you." she stated simply.

I rubbed the back of my neck before saying, "Not really. She mentioned him...and you. Sort of."

Rory let out another breath before looking up at me. I suddenly felt like I had a weight in my stomach and I wasn't exactly sure that I wanted to know about Matthew at all.

"Matthew and I grew up together. It was nice because I would have otherwise grown up alone. He was actually the one who taught me how to sword fight. It was better than needlepoint and and dancing lessons," she told me.

"When I was sixteen, he asked my parents to court me and to be honest, I couldn't have been happier."

I couldn't quite place what I was feeling. It was somewhere between anger and sadness with a little bit of longing before I realized what I was actually feeling. Jealous. I was _jealous _of Matthew and I hated it.

"Not that it mattered. Soon after, he left," she continued, "With no warning. Even his parents didn't know where he went until he came back announced that he had married the daughter of butcher a year and a half later. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to talk to him. All I wanted to know was why. But he moved to a house out in the country with his...wife. I haven't seen him since."

We sat in silence for a while. I knew she didn't want me to say anything which was a good thing because I didn't exactly know what to say. She didn't look angry but I was angry for her. What kind of man courts a girl then leaves her in the dust for a girl he had probably never even met before.

I realized that it only seemed like six months for her. It was...overwhelming to think that what she was telling me was a century ago. It must have been even more strange for her.

"Did you..." I started but I couldn't bring myself to finish. I looked over at her and I knew that she could tell what I was asking.

"Yes, I loved him. When he left, I was...I guess was heartbroken. It seem stupid to say that but it's true. I guess it hurts more that he just left and got married but never explained why. I don't even know if he was with her while he was with me."

"He wasn't good enough for you," I blurted. This time I winced once I said it and knew I had said too much.

Rory looked over at me and I was sure she was going to punch me again but instead she smiled wryly. She let out a breathy laugh before looking out over the field.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," I muttered. I could feel my ears getting hot.

"You're an idiot," she said simply but I could she that she was trying to hide a smile.

I looked over at the meadow. The well looked even farther away from the cottage from atop the barn. About halfway between the two there was a circle of charred, dead grass. I recalled the bright light I saw before I collapsed.

"Hey, Princess, what happened over there?" I asked, pointing to the circle.

"Miranda happened. Those thing would have killed us if it hadn't been for her," she answered, "She used some of her magic. I'm not exactly sure what she did."

"Did she kill them?"

"No, she just scared them. They went scampering off pretty quickly. Miranda can't kill, remember?"

I nodded my head.

"Even if she could, I doubt that she would kill them," I said, "She told me that they used to be people, but now they are cursed."

"Yes. But it's strange."

"What is?"

"They are-were very, very rare and extremely...antisocial. If anybody claimed to see one, most people wrote that person off as crazy," she told me.

"Yeah, Miranda said that. But she also suspects that Maleficent is behind it somehow," I said.

"Perhaps she is the one that cursed them in the first place," she theorized, "It would make sense seeing as nobody knows where they came from in the first place."

I looked over at her and noticed that she was looking tired. I didn't look as if she had gotten a good night's sleep. If it wasn't obvious before it was really obvious now. She was worried sick about the kingdom. Her parents, her subjects, even Matthew.

"Hey," I said and she turned to look at me, "We're going to figure this out. Everybody is going to be okay."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't start getting sentimental on me, Prince Charming. Of course we are going to figure it out, you big oaf."

"I was trying to cheer you up!"

"Well...don't."

"Sorry for caring, Princess," I snapped. I was trying to be nice but apparently that was a bad idea.

She huffed and looked away. I let out a frustrated sigh and shook my head. I could never get it right with her.

"Colin?" Rory said quietly after a moment.

I raised my eyebrows and replied, "Yes?"

She hesitated. She wouldn't look at me and seemed unsure of something before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Thank you."

I could tell she was being sincere this time. I smiled to myself at how hard it was for her to express simple gratitude.

"Stop laughing at me!"

"I'm not, I swear!"

She sighed and stood up. "Come on, we should probably go back. I'm sure Mir as more to tell us."

Once we had managed to get back down off the roof, we once again found ourselves in Miranda's dining room. It seemed as if she had been expecting us. The table was set with the cups with milk in them along with three plates of pie.

"Oh, fantastic!" I exclaimed. I was still hungry since I didn't get to finish the meal.

"It's blueberry," Miranda said as she entered the room.

"That's great!" I said. I approached a chair but then noticed Rory hadn't moved at all. I'm sure she was still angry at Miranda. Instead of saying anything, I pulled out the chair and gestured toward it. She looked startled but then approached it.

"Thanks," she muttered as she sat down.

I took the seat across from her, leaving Miranda at the head of the table.

"Now," she started as she picked up her fork, "I know Aurora isn't in the most talkative of moods, but we must speak about finding Maleficent's castle."

I already had a mouthful of pie in my mouth but Rory asked the question that I was thinking.

"Wait, so you _don't_ know where she is?"

"No," the fairy answered after taking a bite, "She has hidden herself very well. I've been searching for her for these one hundred years. After all this time, I can only assume is that she is in the Cavern."

"The Cavern?" I asked, "Why do I get the feeling that is more sinister than it sounds?"

"Mir, the Cavern is a myth; just a story that parents tell their children," Rory argued.

"Again, Princess, so were you until I woke you up," I told her.

"Fair point," she said to me before turning to Miranda, "But I thought that the Cavern was a happy place. I place where unicorns and pixies lived and magic flowers grew."

The godmother ran her hand through her hair, "Well, that is what it used to be before it disappeared. That was over one thousand years ago."

"Do you mean it's moved?" I couldn't help but wonder what kind of magic would be making a cavern invisible to even a fairy.

"Yes and no. I'm not entirely sure. It could have very well moved or it could be in the same place. Dark magic is a tricky thing to pin down. It very well could be both and I think that is the case."

"So you think it was Maleficent who moved it?" Rory inquired, "I guess that makes sense."

Miranda nodded. They both took a bite of pie as I took a gulp from my cup.

"Great," I said after I had swallowed, "How are we going to find it? A magic medallion?"

Miranda burst into laughter.

"Oh, isn't that absolutely twentieth century?" she said through her laughter.

I looked over at Rory hoping she could explain what was so humorous, but the Princess only shrugged.

Miranda slowly recovered from her laughter and looked at me.

"No, not a medallion," she answered me, "I was thinking just a simple map. You can go to the original place of the Cavern and search around there. Maybe you can find it."

"If you couldn't find it, how can we?" Rory asked.

"Call it a theory," Miranda said cryptically. She took another bite and it was clear she wasn't going to explain any further.

"A theory?" Rory asked incredulously.

"That's what your going to have us go on?" I interjected.

"That's all you have," Miranda reasoned.

Rory and I sighed in frustration. I saw that it was pretty much assumed that Miranda wouldn't be coming along to help. I doubt that she could either. She couldn't harm or kill anyone and I had a feeling that her not coming was part of her mysterious theory.

I took the last bite of my pie before I stood up.

"Right. Then I shall leave in the morning."

Rory stood up as well. "What do you mean _you_ will leave in the morning. _We_ will leave in the morning."

I shook my head before saying, "No, I will go alone, Princess. You can stay here safely with Miranda until I get back."

"You idiot! You are _not _leaving me behind!" she leaned forward towards me and standing on her tiptoes, trying to make herself taller.

"You saw how dangerous it was! I got attacked today _and _ I fought a dragon just to get to your stupid castle!" I snapped.

"Exactly! If I'm there I can cover your back! You know I'm just as good of a swordsman as you!" she shouted.

"From what I saw, I beat you," I countered.

"That's because I was distracted by the _loup-garous_!"

"Well, that was your first mistake. You shouldn't be so easily distracted," I yelled. Somehow, I was now towering over her but she didn't back down. In fact, she was turning red.

"You-you-giant-" she seemed to be unable to finish. I leaned back and crossed my arms. I sneaked a glance over at Miranda who had been quiet through this argument. She was silently finishing her pie and pretending that we weren't there. I suppose she knew how this would end, and deep down, so did I.

Rory leaned back and let out a breath.

"Look," she said calmly, "Hulion is my country and as the future queen, I should be there to save and protect it."

She looked me in the eyes when I didn't respond.

"How am I supposed to be a queen that people will follow if I let other people do my dirty work?"

It was silent for a long time. She was right. I didn't think for a moment that she just wanted glory or honor by coming along. I found it extremely admirable that she was willing to do anything for her kingdom, even if she didn't really want to.

But I really didn't want her to get in any danger. For the first time, I was completely honest with myself and I knew it terrified me completely if she got hurt the same way I did today. I knew those garous things were still out there and if we met them again we wouldn't stand a chance without Miranda's help. But I still couldn't forbid Rory from coming. I knew she would come either way.

I rubbed the back of my head and sighed. The Princess was still staring at me as if willing me to understand.

"Fine, Princess. Whatever you want."

"Great!" Miranda squealed as she shot from her chair, "You both will leave in the morning! You guys better get packing while I get some food for you. And Rory?"

She took her gaze off me and directed it at the godmother.

"Yes?"

"You better get plenty of sleep in the morning because you guys are leaving at sunrise," Mir gathered up the plates and headed towards the kitchen, "I have an appointment over in the East and I can't miss that."

She exited the room in a flurry.

"Fantastic. I love mornings," Rory grumbled.

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><p><strong>What do you think? I really value your opinion so let me know! Until next time!<strong>


	18. In Which I Am Unusually Helpful

**I can't believe it's been two months! I'm so sorry about the late update! My mom has been in and out of the hospital so I have been helping with that and haven't gotten the time to update this! Regardless, here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Even though we had only a month left, I was a bit reluctant to leave Miranda's cottage. It seemed that Rory shared this sentiment seeing as she kept asking her fairy godmother if we could stay another day. However, Miranda just kept stating that she had an appointment in the East that she couldn't miss.<p>

"What appointment in the East?" I asked. I wondered how far she would be going. There were still some lands that were somewhat unknown to us and what was known wasn't very good. I had always heard rumors of huge demon birds who were on fire and men who were cut in in half vertically but somehow still hopped around. I normally wouldn't pay any attention to these stories but drawing from my experience from the last couple of days, I was willing to believe anything.

"Oh, just a meeting with a couple of fairies from the Eastern district. Well, fairies isn't the right term for them. They prefer Jinn," Miranda answered me which, surprisingly enough, left me more confused than before.

The rest of the day consisted of Miranda throwing clothes at us and packing food for us that would last as well as the godmother and Rory arguing whether or not the Princess would wear a dress. Eventually, they both reached an agreement that Rory would wear a simple kirtle over a smock as long as she could wear men's trousers underneath. I didn't quite see why she was so insistent on dressing like a man but she told me it was easier to fight in rather than just wearing women's clothing.

Miranda gave me some more comfortable clothes to travel in that wasn't quite as grand as the silk and satin that I had been wearing. I was given a woolen tunic with a fur vest along with new trousers. Even the leather boots were more comfortable than the ones I had previously been wearing.

By the end of the day, we had more than enough supplies to last us packed in two bags we could carry on our backs.

"I think you should leave your donkey here," Miranda told us over dinner, "An animal isn't going to do too well in an underground place like the Cavern and you don't want to risk losing him if the _loup-garous_ come after you again."

"We have to leave King behind?"

She nodded. I guess it was kind of stupid to worry about the donkey but it would have been helpful in carrying some supplies.

"Now listen," she started but then she couldn't seem to finish. She had a strange expression on her face that looked somewhat like worry. She glanced at me before looking at Rory.

"I really have nothing more to say. I don't know any more about the Cavern besides its disappearance. Just be careful."

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, "I thought you can travel through time. Don't you know what happens?"

She looked at me for a long time before saying, "I never told you I could travel through time."

"Well, I kind of worked it out by myself when you were going on about your first and third husband."

"Well, Colin, it appears that you are smarter than what I gave you credit for," Miranda said as she smiled.

"Wait, hold on," Rory said, "You're married?"

"Well, not now dear, but I will be and have been," Miranda answered. It seemed odd that the Princess didn't know about her godmother's marriages but we were getting off topic.

"Sorry, but back to the Cavern. Miranda, do you know what is going to happen?" I asked.

"No."

She said it simply but I could tell that it was to be the end of the conversation. I looked over to Rory who looked just as confused as I felt before she mouthed "lying" to me. Whether she was lying or not, I decided not to bring up the subject and continued to finish my meal.

Shortly after, we cleaned up the table with little conversation. Miranda told us that she was tired and without wasting anytime went to her room. Rory and I sat down in the main living quarters by the hearth after she did so. Even though the godmother had told us to sleep, I didn't feel like I could even if I wanted to.

Rory looked as if she was about to cry. It didn't suit her personality in such a way that it made me uncomfortable. She lowered her head which made her hair hide her face.

"How come you didn't know she was married?" I asked, "Or will be married. I'm not sure how that works."

"Me neither," she replied, looking back up, "I didn't know because I didn't ask. She never tells me things I don't need to know unless I ask. I never really thought of her as the type to get married."

"She told me."

"Then you must have asked."

I thought back to the conversation that I had with Miranda. I realized that she only explained the details of her life when she was asked or when it was relevant to me. I had a feeling that I could ask her a thousand questions and still not know anything about her.

The princess bent her head back down.

"Colin?" she said quietly.

I leaned forward in my chair. "What?"

She didn't say anything for a long time. I looked over at the fire and watched it burn, hearing nothing but the crackling of the fire. I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that. I almost thought she had fallen asleep until she spoke again.

"I'm scared."

I was shocked by how honest she was with me. I didn't know what to say to her. If I was honest with myself, I had a lot of concerns myself. How were we supposed find a place that had been hidden for centuries? In a month? If we didn't, Rory and the rest of her kingdom would die. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like we would fail.

I couldn't say anything to encourage her. However, when I looked over at her, I could tell that she didn't really want that.

So instead, I reached over and took her hand. Her hand twitched but she didn't pull away.

"I wish my parents were awake," she confided, "They are much more equipped for this than I am."

"I think that you are plenty equipped. You would do anything for the people of this country," I said.

"That's not enough!" she looked up at me, "I have to succeed. What's the point in doing something if you don't succeed? Even if I try my hardest and fail my people still suffer. I need more knowledge and experience. Instead I'm just an eighteen year old girl who has been sleeping for the past one hundred years."

Her face was angry and frantic. I desperately searched for the right words to tell her but they all sounded weak and shallow in my mind.

"Look," I said after a while, "Your parents were once young and inexperienced as well. They had their own troubles in the land that they overcame and look how great of rulers they are now. This is undoubtedly one of the most horrible things that has ever happened to your country and I know that you will succeed. Just think of how brilliant of a ruler you will be."

Rory's face became unreadable as she stared at me. I looked down at her hand which was still in mine. I could feel my heart beat speed up.

"Your parents also had each other to work through those bad times, whatever they were. Someone to stand beside when things got tough. You have me, alright?," I could feel the heat rushing to my face. Fortunately, I was still looking down at our intertwined hands, "I'm going to see this out until the end."

I glanced up. The princess continued to gaze at me for a moment before showing a small smile. She squeezed my hand before standing up. She hesitated before taking her hand out of mine and turned her back towards me.

"Thank you, Colin," she said, "I think I should be able to sleep well with that knowledge. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I responded as she left the room. Once she was gone I let out a sigh and rubbed the back of my head. My heart hadn't stopped racing and the hand that held hers burned. I knew what was happening to me, but in the end, it scared me, so I put it in the back of my mind.

"I don't think I will be able to sleep at all," I sighed once more before standing up to return to my room.

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><p><strong>So, it ended up being a really short chapter but I feel like there was more bonding time. Look at that! Colin actually said something that helped. :) I think he knows he is falling for Rory too. :3 But what are her feelings? Tell me what you guys think! Thanks for all the support and continued reads!<strong>

**P.S. Some new characters are coming up. I'm all ears if you guys have any special requests for characters/character traits. **


	19. In Which We Take a Detour

**Look at that! I actually updated within a week! Hopefully I can keep this up. Well, here is the next segment. Enjoy!**

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><p>Waking up the next morning was unusually difficult for me due to the fact that I barely slept. Even though she usually had a hard time waking up, especially before dawn, it seemed that Rory got a sufficient amount of sleep. I found her downstairs in the main living quarters talking quietly with Miranda. They didn't seem to notice my approach at first. I considered eavesdropping for a moment before I decidedly cleared my throat. Both of them jumped in surprise before Rory fixed me with a glare.<p>

"How much did you hear?" she demanded, her face turning a light shade of pink. She didn't look angry, but embarrassed.

I held up my hands. "Your faith in my character continues to wound me, Princess. I didn't hear anything. Although, your face tells me that it would have been worth my time if I had."

"Shut your mouth, you stuck up prat," she spat at me.

"This early in the morning and you are already arguing with me," I said wearily as I turned to exit the room, "Honestly, Princess, you are exhausting. I'll get the bags."

I didn't wait to here her response. I rubbed my eyes as I went to the main entrance where the bags were. I picked them both up and noticed that mine was lighter than Rory's. I sighed and wondered if every woman had a tendency for over-packing. I swung her bag over my shoulder. I bent down and pulled on the leather boots that Miranda had given me. Once I stood up, my stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Tired and hungry," I grumbled, "What a perfect way to start this journey."

"Well now, it's usually Aurora who is in a foul mood in the mornings. It's quite unexpected of you to be so cynical," Miranda said as she entered the room.

"Yeah, well, even I-what is that?" I asked, suddenly distracted by what the fairy was holding.

"This is a bacon and egg biscuit," she said, holding it out to me, "A wonderful meal for someone in a hurry. Someday these will be quite the seller."

I took the sandwich and looked at it. It smelled delicious. At that moment, Rory came in and stood beside her godmother eating a sandwich of her own.

"What's in it?" I asked stupidly.

"Well, since it's a bacon and egg biscuit," Rory said between bites, "I'm assuming that there is some jam, walnuts, maybe some beef, and-"

"Alright, alright," I waved my hand at her, "I get it."

I took a bite and my eyes widened in surprise. Miranda chuckled.

"Woah, this is amazing!" I exclaimed before taking another bite.

"Thank you. I personally don't care for them but Aurora loves them," the fairy said modestly, "But you two best be on your way. I will be late if you don't leave now."

Rory and came over to me for her bag. I handed her the lighter one before turning back to the godmother and bowing to her.

"Thank you for hospitality, Godmother Miranda," I said.

"Dear Heavens, Boy, there is no need to be so formal," she said as she threw her arms around me in tight embrace. Before I could return it, she released me and wrapped Rory in a hug as well.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Miranda said as she pulled away and turned towards the interior of the cottage, "Sunnie!"

Almost instantly, the cat appeared, balancing two swords of two different lengths and widths on its back.

"How-?" I started but then decided that it wasn't even worth asking.

Miranda stooped and picked them both up and handed them to us and we both unsheathed them. Mine was longer than Rory's but hers was broader than mine. My sword was extremely light but seemed solidly made. I noticed that on the hilt was the royal crest of Tealm; a bear with antlers surrounded by laurels.

"Each of them were specially designed for you two. Aurora's is shorter but is more broad making it easy to parry attacks but it is a tad bit harder to wield. Colin's is made in the likeness of his old sword but is much more versatile than that one. They both have you family seals on the hilt as an extra touch," Miranda explained.

"Mir, who made these?" Rory asked, "When was there even time for these to be made?"

The godmother put her finger to her lips and winked. "It's a secret."

Rory sighed and rolled her eyes as she sheathed her sword. "Of course it is."

"One more thing," Miranda said as she opened the door for us, "Those swords are magically covered in a thin layer of silver. It should be beneficial if you are to meet and _loup-garous_."

Rory threw her arms around Miranda one last time before pulling away. "Thanks, Mir. I'll see you soon, alright?"

With that she turned on her heel and marched out of the house. I went to follow her but a hand caught my arm. I turned to look at the fairy and saw her looking more serious than I thought possible.

"Uh, Mir-?"

"Protect her. Do you understand?" her voice was dangerously low, "Make sure you take care of her, Colin."

The way she said made it seem as if she were threatening me but her eyes were desperate. However mysterious this woman was it was apparent that she cared deeply for Rory. I could see that if anything happened to her that the godmother would never be able to get over it. I wondered if she would turn dark like Maleficent had.

I nodded. "I will."

"Are you coming?" Rory's voice came from outside.

"I'm coming," I shouted towards her before turning back to Miranda. I took her hands in mine. "I promise I will."

She jerked her head slightly upwards and I let go of her hands and ran out after Rory. She was tapping her foot impatiently when I reached her. I turned back to the cottage to see Miranda in her strange clothes standing outside the door. Rory waved one last time before turning.

"Let's go," she said as she started to walk. I started to walk along with her.

"Aurora, don't you dare start wearing only pants once you are out of my sight!" Miranda yelled after us.

"I won't!" She shouted without looking backwards.

"Don't light fires at night! It will attract _loup-garous_!"

"Alright!"

"And at least be nice to Colin when he wakes you up!"

"I don't think I can do that!"

I chuckled.

"Honestly, she's worse than my mother," Rory grumbled but she looked a little happy anyway.

"Maybe so, but I do think that you should refrain from attempting to hit me every time you wake up," I said.

"I can't control it! It's a reflex," she countered.

"No, it's not! You just don't like waking up. Plain and simple!"

She was silent for a moment before looking over at me.

"Colin, why did you take my bag instead of yours?"

I widened my eyes in surprise. "Uh, well-It was heavier so...I took it."

"You idiot! I'm not weak! I can handle my own things!" she chastised.

"Look, I was just trying to be nice. If you are that bothered by it, take it," I said angrily as I swung it off my shoulder and pushed it at her.

She took it and threw mine at me while shouldering her own.

"Honestly, woman, there is no winning with you," I mumbled.

And so, the second part of our journey began.

The next couple of days were filled with nothing but wearisome traveling. Rory kept pulling out the map that Miranda had given us and informing me that we were on the right track. A couple hours before sundown, we would stop for the night and eat while enjoying a small fire before putting it out so as not to attract the attention of those creatures. I also suggested practicing our sword fighting to get accustomed to our new weapons which Rory agreed to.

It turned out that even though we were pretty evenly matched, Rory's stamina couldn't hold out which led to a lot of losses for her. Unsurprisingly enough, she didn't handle losing well and would accuse me of cheating, Miranda giving her a bad sword, or even me stepping on a twig distracted her.

On our fourth day of traveling, we reached the edges of a small village. I knew it would be the same as all the other villages; full of sleeping people with not a sound except the occasional snore. There was ivy covering the walls of the houses and some of the wooden carts were rotted. Looming from the other side of the village was a manor.

"Where are we?" I asked Rory.

She didn't answer but stepped forward with a strange look on her face. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she took off running down the main street of the village.

"Hey! Wait!" I shouted as I ran after her. I had no idea where she was going but it was apparent that she knew this place. I thought about how it must have looked one hundred years ago. If we managed to break the curse, it would be disorienting for the people to wake up and find their homes in ruins. I felt sorry for them.

I followed Rory until she ended up at the front of the manor house. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath which gave me the time to catch up to her.

"Who lives here? Where are we?" I asked her but she didn't answer. She walked forward towards the door that led to the inside of the manor. Unlike the wood in the village, the door hadn't seemed to rot all that much but enough to break when Rory kicked it in.

"Great. You kicked in a door. Do you feel better? Will you tell me what's going on?"

She walked into the manor and once more I followed closely behind her.

The manor was different from the castle. The castle had seemed to be decorated to be warm and comforting, but the years had made it seem more like a suffocating tomb. This manor had many windows and the tapestries and paintings were all bright and colorful as if it had been decorated to be airy and free. But the paintings and tapestries were torn. I could hear the wind whistle through broken windows.

"The village is called Paix. This," she said to me, "is where Matthew lives."

She continued to walk until she reached a set of stairs and started to go up them. I froze in place. A jumble of emotion rose up in me and I couldn't understand them. Why would she come here? To this man's home knowing what she would find? Even after he hurt her? Why was I so angry at her?

I slammed my fist against the stone wall. She really was an idiot. She obviously still had feelings for him even though he had betrayed her. Back home, the worst kind of women to get involved with were the ones who tended to cling onto relationships when they were clearly over. I never thought of the Princess as one of those girls.

I collected myself and climbed up the steps that she had just taken. At the top, there was a hallway. There were two maids sleeping on the floor but I stepped over them. All the doors seemed to be shut. I considered opening each one to see where Rory had gone but then I saw that one of them was slightly open. I went over to it and opened it the whole way.

It was a simple room which had windows opening up towards the village. It was small but it seemed to be a study room as there was a desk in front of the windows. What caught my attention was Rory standing in front of a small table that had teacups on it. I approached her cautiously.

"Tea time," she said quietly.

At the table there were two people; a man and a woman. The man had his head bowed and was slumped in his chair. He had curly brown hair and had a short beard. His face was squared but was set in such a way that it made him look serious even in sleep. The woman had straight black hair but that was all I could see. Her head was buried in her arms and her soft breathing could be heard.

"Look," Rory said, "She's going to have a baby."

I looked at the woman closer and saw that her stomach was protruding. She must have had only two months left before she gave birth but now she was frozen in time along with her child.

"I'm happy," Rory admitted with a small smile, "I feel...I don't know. I guess I don't feel hurt anymore. Even though he did betray me, I think I can finally forgive him now."

At these words, I became angry again. She had to come here to figure that out? I had had enough. I turned towards the door and began walking towards it.

"Good. Can we continue now?"

She caught my hand and but I didn't turn around. She stood there, grasping my hand like a life line trying to say something.

"I'm sorry I came here. I guess I didn't realize..."

"What do I care? You are free to do whatever you like," I responded coldly. I tried to tear my hand away from hers but she held fast. I turned to look at her only to be surprised that her eyes were full of sincerity.

"It was stupid of me to not consider how you felt about this," she said, "I thought...Well, I guess I wasn't thinking. But I know it helped and I can move forward now."

For a long moment neither of us said anything. I didn't know exactly what she meant by moving forward. Perhaps it meant that she regretted the time she had spent with Matthew in the first place. However, from her words, it seemed that she was going to let go of that time. I realized I was getting jealous again but this time, I didn't try to quell it. I was finally beginning to understand my feelings and I realized that Rory was doing the same.

"Please understand-" she started but then I took my hand out of hers. She looked shocked until I put it on her shoulder.

"You really are annoying, you know that?" I said, "Going into someone's house while they're sleeping and then getting emotional about it. You are so strange."

She looked at me for a moment before smirking. "You idiot."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, shaking my head, "Come on. We have somewhere to be.

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><p><strong>I'm not so sure how I feel about this chapter but it had to happen. In about two chapters we should be seeing some new characters! I've already got some great suggestions for some but I would love to hear more! I'm excited to hear what you think! Until next time.<strong>


	20. In Which My Brother is Discussed

**Another update! I got all sorts of great ideas for newer characters but I could still use more! They will definitely appear in the next chapter. I'm really excited to see what you guys think! Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p>"I don't know about you, Princess, but I feel like we are wasting time," I hollered over to her. She was behind a huge boulder digging at the base of it.<p>

"No! The map said it was around here," Her muffled voice said, "It has to be here!"

"Princess, we've already been searching for a while now and besides, Miranda said it might have been moved."

Rory came out from behind the boulder. Even though we were in the middle of the forest, the sun shone through the leafy branches which made her hair shine. She had dirt and leaves in it; evidence that she had been crawling on the ground looking for a secret opening.

It had only been a half a week since we left the godmother's house and we had gone straight to the place that Miranda had pointed out on the map. After searching the area for a few days, we still had found nothing.

"It could still be here, hidden somewhere. We just have to keep looking," She responded.

"Or, it could be somewhere else and we are just wasting our time here," I argued, "Think about it. If it was still here like the map says, don't you think that someone would have come across it by now?"

"You give up to easily," She huffed as she walked over to me. She motioned for me to turn around and I obeyed. She reached into my pack and pulled out the map for what must have been the twentieth time that day. I shook my head but looked at it with her anyway. Little black x marks filled up the places where we had searched and more were around the area that Miranda had pointed out. There was really no place left to search in anywhere near us.

"See, Princess, we might as well try somewhere else. Maybe farther up north?" I suggested. Rory rolled up the map once more and placed it back in my bag. Then she came around to face me.

"Why north?"

"Why not? It's worth a shot," I answered.

"So, you're guessing then," She said shortly, crossing her arms. I knew when she did that she wasn't happy with what I had just said.

"Um, well," I faltered, "I suppose I am."

She set her jaw. "We can't make decisions on a _guess_. That's just foolish."

"We can try," I grinned. She didn't look impressed.

"How did you become so irresponsible? Honestly, you would think you didn't have a care in the world by the way you-" She started to rant.

I ran my hand through my hair, completely annoyed already.

"Wow, you are starting to sound like my brother," I said, cutting her off, "If I was so irresponsible would I have come to your kingdom in the first place and after that helped you?"

She stayed silent for a long moment, just staring at me. For a split second, I thought I saw a flash of realization on her face before she started to smirk.

"I get it."

"What?" I asked uneasily.

She gave a short laugh. "You're jealous of your brother."

I stepped back in surprise. What was she _saying_? Where had that even come from? It was plain ridiculous.

At a loss for words, I turned my back to her and started walking away.

"Jealous? Of my stuck up brother? No way!"

"Admit it," She said, following me, "You may talk about him like he is the most annoying person in the world, but deep down you really admire him."

"I don't think so."

"You also think that your parents like him better because he's more 'responsible' than you seem to be. That's the real reason you came here. To match up to your brother."

"I came so my parents would get off my back," I said through gritted teeth. What she was saying was way out of line. I was starting to get actually angry.

"Or, you came so they would be as proud of you as they are of him," she countered.

"You're wrong. I don't have inferiority issues."

"I think you are lying to yourself," she said simply.

I had heard enough. She had crossed her boundaries and had no reason to say these things to me. I stopped abruptly and spun on my heels to face her. I was about to start yelling out her but found that she had been following closer than I thought she had. My unexpected halt caused her to crash straight into me, making her lose her balance. As she fell, she grabbed onto my arm and instinctively, I caught her around the waist and brought her back to her feet.

For a moment, we stood there like that. I looked down at her face and instantly, all the anger I had seeped away. I was overly aware of my arm around her waist and my skin was tingling where she was touching. She looked up at me and I noticed not for the first time in the past couple days how beautiful she was. My mind started to get fuzzy and I knew that I wanted to kiss her. I bent my head down towards her slightly. She gave no objection and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, It became clear to me what I was doing. Embarrassed, I jerked backwards and pushed her away from me before turning my back towards her once more.

"You're right," My strangled voice said, "I guess I am jealous of my stupid brother."

"Colin-"

"Oh, man. Now the moment is ruined," A new voice came from around us, "It was just getting good!"

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><p><strong>Yeah, so it's really short, but I felt like this was the appropriate place to end it. Tell me what you think! And don't forget that a character you suggest could be in the next chapter! Until next time!<strong>


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